Family Ties (Revised)
by FandomsUnite17
Summary: After meeting a young airbender named Elian, Aang sets off with friends old and new to defeat Nupira, a villain seeking out his death. As the adventure progresses, they discover that some people know more than they're letting off, and secrets are exposed that change all of their lives forever, for the good and the bad.
1. Ice To Meet You

_My name is Elian, and I'm an airbender. I thought I had a normal life but, boy, was I wrong! This is my story, and I'm gonna show you how I helped restore balance to the world I never knew._

Me, Tiki, and Cosmo were hanging out at the edge of the island I lived on when it happened. We had been relaxing and watching the stars and were about to go to sleep for the night, when I got an incredible pain in my stomach, like it was being twisted into a knot inside. Tears streamed down my face as I hunched over, consumed by the pain. Water surrounded us then, forming a bubble like a cage, which shrunk and shrunk and with one swift movement, it pulled me and my pets into the lake that surrounded my island. I panicked and grabbed Cosmo, my pet lemur bat, and the strap of Tiki, my pet sky bison. Before I could tell what had happened, the water around us solidified.

A vision came to my sight then. There was an airbender. A young airbender, no older than me. He was riding his sky bison through a heavy storm when suddenly a wave dragged him and his bison under. The next part sped by seeming too unreal, like a dream. There was a glow, and a sphere of ice froze around the boy, just like it was happening to me. The boy… he looked so familiar… but I'd never seen him before then, so it must have been my imagination.

A week had passed since Aang had defeated the Phoenix King, and now it was his birthday. Well, it would be tomorrow. He had started his way to Omashu as soon as he had gotten the invitation. He would arrive the next day. "How about we find somewhere to sleep for the night, huh buddy?" Aang asked.

Appa answered with a tired groan, and ten minutes later they were landing for the night on an island that, little did they know, would later gain the name 'Air temple island.' Aang didn't bother to move from his friend when he fell asleep that night.

When Aang awoke the next morning, he woke Appa, and decided to explore the island when he got a strange calling towards the edge. He pushed his way through the overgrown plants, and Appa trailed behind him. He would never forget what he saw then, for it changed his life forever. There, in the water before him, floated a giant chunk of ice, and in it were frozen a sky bison, a lemur bat, and in the very center an airbender. Yes, an airbender, he wasn't the last after all! But it wasn't real, it couldn't be. It was a dream, like all the other times, that was the only explanation.

"Appa? I'm dreaming… right?" After a deep breath, he created a bridge of earth and stepped up to ice. He slowly reached out his hand. The moment his fingers brushed the cold surface, his eyes and tattoos began to glow, along with the eyes and tattoos of the frozen girl. He hovered above the lake, spraying mist over the area, and once again he had no control over his actions. He watched the four nation's symbols carve themselves into the ice, centered on where he had touched it. He slowly lowered, and the ice began to crack, crack, crack, until it exploded into a rush of water that Aang easily bent away from him and the group in the ice. Then he fell to his knees, once again normal.

After taking a moment to regain his strength, he stepped up to the girl, who had landed on the earth bridge along with her pets. She looked identical to him, except for the short, dark brown hair that splayed out around her head. Even her eyes were a perfect match.

What seemed like immediately after the last, I had another vision. It was centered on the same boy, and this time he was freed from the ice by a waterbender and her brother. After asking if she'd go sledding with him, he shouted the name of his bison and jumped over the ice wall behind him. That's where it ended, and that's when I woke.

I slowly open my eyes and move them through the clouds, finally releasing my bison's strap from my firm grip. Strangely, I no longer feel wet like I did seemingly seconds ago. What I do feel is the chest of Cosmo rising and falling against me. And what I hear is a muffled voice talking.

"Do you think she's okay?"

The groaning of a large animal answers him.

I sit up slowly, my arms feeling like there's no strength left to them. I scan my island. It's very overgrown. It appears as though it has been untouched for decades. _'How long was I frozen?'_ I think.

It's then that I notice the one I heard speaking. He's an airbender, no older than me, he has a large sky bison behind him, and he's staring straight at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Aang," he says, holding his hand out.

"Yeah," I mutter again, letting him help me up. I still hold Cosmo and the sight of his long black fur ruffling in the breeze makes me smile, only slightly. I set him down and he shakes himself awake as I walk over to Tiki.

"Tiki? C'mon girl," I say, shaking her. I push against her with all my might and call again, "Tiki?" She stirs and moans softly, and a sigh of relief escapes my lips.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," I say. "What happened?"

"Not sure. Are you sure you're okay? You don't look good."

' _Am I okay?!'_ I think with frustration. _'Do I look okay?! No, I am not okay! I don't know what's going on and I'm sore, and I'm starving!'_

I take a deep breath to calm myself and simply say, "I don't know."

"If you come with me, I get you some help," Aang offers.

"No, no, I just… oh, I don't know where to start! I don't know what's going on, I don't know what just happened to me, I don't know why I'm so weak, I don't know how long it's been, I'm hungry, they're hungry-" I say, gesturing to Tiki and Cosmo, "-my island's a mess-"

"Whoa, hold on, slow down. You sure you don't need any help?" he asks again with a sarcastic smile.

"No, I don't. I mean, I'm fine, I mean- I can handle it. I mean- I'm so sorry, I just-" I release a sigh of defeat and my eyes drift to the ground. "I..."

Aang smiles gently at me, and I can't help but smile back. "Come with me, I want you to meet someone," he says.

So I get on Tiki and tell her, "Follow him, okay girl?"

She responds with a soft groan, and me and Aang exclaim "Yip-Yip!" in sync. That sends us both into laughter, despite the situation. One more laugh and we set off, Aang in the lead.

Despite the trip taking most of the day, we didn't really talk. Aang tried many times to strike conversation, but it quickly turned awkward and we fell silent. Neither of us knew how to bring up the subject of earlier, though I think the boy's happy to have someone to travel with. I really feel like I can trust him.

"Here we are, Omashu City!" Aang exclaims excitedly.

"So… where in the city are we going?"

"The palace," he responds simply.

"The palace? You know someone at the palace? Who?"

"You'll see," he answers with a grin.


	2. Welcome To Omashu!

The evening sun casts down bright rays as we ride over the beautiful earth kingdom city of Omashu. It seems to have seen better days. Everything I've seen today does. It all seems very off. _'How long have I really been frozen?'_ I think. _'What could I have missed?'_

"I know this is awkward to bring up, but… do you know how long I was frozen?" I ask.

"I'm not sure," Aang responds. "But maybe I can help you figure it out?"

"Yeah," I answer with a small smile. I can't place it, but something about this boy seems off in a way. Not quite normal…

"Hey," he says suddenly, "I never got your name."

"Oh, it's-" An oncoming sneeze catches my voice. I take a few deep breaths to stop myself, but it comes anyway and sends me flying above Tiki. Falling back to my bison, I grab blindly for her horn and catch it with my legs, which leaves me hanging upside down from it. "-Elian," I sigh.

Aang bursts into laughter and, after jumping back to Tiki's head, I join him. In that moment, I feel so content and at peace that I almost forget about my current predicament. This moment reminds me of someone… someone I haven't seen in a very long time, and someone who I don't think I remember. I can't place their appearance or their name or even their gender, I only know that I was suddenly reminded of them for such a fleeting moment that I ignored it entirely. This feeling of contentment and joy won't last. We're here, and landing, I don't know anything… not yet.

We land in a stone circle, the stairs leading up to the palace on one side, get off our bison, and head up the stairs. When we reach the top, the guards prepare to open the doors, but pause when they see me. They whisper a few things to each other, then open the doors for us and say, "Welcome. The king is waiting, first door on the right down the left hall."

"Thanks," Aang responds happily, and we both enter the long room.

"Th-th-the king?!" I exclaim nervously. "I-I can't just go see the king! He'll-he-you don't just bring a friend to a meeting with the king!"

Aang remains calm. "Who said anything about a meeting? I know him personally, he'll want to meet you."

"But-but-huh?"

"You'll see."

We enter the left hall and stop in front of the first door on the right, just like the guards instructed. Aang reaches for the handle, but I quickly say, "Wait," to stop him.

He turns around and cocks his head questioningly. "Are you sure he'll be okay with an extra person showing up? I never was good at proper etiquette, and-"

"-of course I'm sure. Just trust me."

I take a deep breath. He's probably right. I should trust him. He did save me, after all. I'm nervous, but… "Okay."

Aang gives me a smile and opens the door. It's a very comfy looking room. Windows bathe the room in light, and the walls are strung with banners and paintings. In the middle of the room is a large, square rug, and chairs line a table that rests on top of it.

I enter nervously, walking in step to Aang. The king views me for a second longer than I would like, and a knowing smile creeps across his face. "Welcome, Avatar Aang."

Aang grins, runs up to the king, and gives him a hug. "It's nice to see you, Aang," the king mutters.

I can't stay quiet. "Avatar?!" Something returns to my memory and suddenly Aang is the spitting image of the boy I saw in my visions. I mutter to myself, "Of course, he's the boy from the ice. But, wait, AVATAR?!"

Aang blinks confusedly, and says, "Yeah. Who else would it be? The avatar is an airbender, and… we're the last two…"

Disbelief consumes me, tearing a flood of tears from me. "No…" My legs are suddenly weak and I fall to the ground on my knees. I know I didn't live with them, and I know they didn't like the word, but they were my family. They all were. They can't all be gone, they can't… "NO!"

My eyes and tattoos suddenly begin to glow and, crying worse than I ever have in all my life, I lose control of myself. The next part is unreal, like I'm watching an awful play. A set of wings build themselves onto my back and form into my vision. Their shape is bat-like, and they're made out of the elements other than my own. Earth closest to my body, which fades to water, which fades to fire on the ends. They're each twice as long as my body is tall, but somehow I'm hovering in the air, even with their weight.

I have no idea what's happening, but I'm desperately trying to make it stop. It's awful. "I don't want to hurt anyone… please…" I beg, but I don't know, or care, who I'm begging to. Energy surges through me with every shaky breath I take. Energy I've never felt before. Energy that makes me feel sick with power.

"I know what you're feeling!" Through my tear filled eyes, I make out the figure of Aang screaming to me through the wind I'm creating. "I felt the same way when I found out!" he continues. "I'm so sorry, but… I'm still here! I'm here, and… and we can still be a family! Please!"

His words echo in my head like the gentle wave of an ocean and somehow they calm me, returning me control of myself. My eyes and tattoos cease glowing, the bat-like wings disappear into the air with a quick breeze, and I collapse onto the ground. Weakness consumes me, half because of the immense amount of grief coursing through me. Me and Aang are the last airbenders… there's only two left… it seems so impossible… Aang kneels beside me and rests my shaking form on his shoulder. "I'm here, I promise."

I catch a glimpse of the king's facial expression then, and when I have a chance to think everything over later, that's what confuses me most. Plastered across his face is a suspiciously knowing smile that definitely doesn't read angry, and he doesn't look surprised either. He knows something that neither me nor Aang does. I have to figure out what it is.


	3. Toph's Side

_Finally my turn, huh? Well, even though the war's over, it hasn't exactly been happy-ville. People can't just be satisfied with the fact that there's no war, everyone needs perfect lives right away! I don't get it. We just saved all their butts and all they can do is ask us for stuff? Usually TwinkleToes does most of that people-pleasing stuff, but since he's leaving, we'll have to take over. Anyway, I'm just here to tell you the story, so here it goes._

It had been another long day trying to help as many people as we could, but we'd finally managed to get away long enough to find a place to eat before Aang left. He had gotten some special invite from Bumi, since it was his birthday was tomorrow. After we had finished eating, we all left the building to see Aang off. "Bye guys, I'll be back the day after tomorrow! Yip-Yip, Appa!"

"Have a nice trip, Aang!" Katara called.

After that we all went back to the fire palace for the day, where we'd been staying while we got things settled. I decided to do some exploring. While I was walking through the halls, I stopped at a wall and felt the hall open into a room on the other side of it. Pausing curiously, I took the rock I had been playing with and smashed it through the wall, then I did it again and again until there was a large enough hole to walk through. "Hey, guys!" I called out. I didn't really care if they didn't hear me. That was their problem.

The room was full of statues. Hundreds of statues, all shaped like people. "That's why they closed up this room," I muttered.

I stepped up to the statue of Aang in the center. Now I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure an avatar isn't supposed to magically get a statue while they're still alive. Wait, what was it doing?! The statue was morphing and twisting in front of me! This time I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Guys! Come down here!"

It was no longer than a minute and the others rushed in. "I've never seen this room before -" Zuko began, but he stopped as soon as he spotted what everyone was staring at.

The statue," I said, pointing.

"What is that?!" Zuko exclaimed.

"I think that used to be a statue of Aang," Katara muttered, watching the glowing eyes warp and twist. "Do you think he's okay?"

"I don't know, but I hope he doesn't look like this statue," I respond.

"TOPH!" Sokka scolded while Katara gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm just sayin'," I muttered.

"I'm sure he's fine," Zuko said. "He probably just got upset and activated the avatar state or something."

As the statue warped further, it began to form a second person beside Aang. Finally the statue finished its transformation, and revealed Aang and the second person with their arms around each other's shoulders, both wearing the same cheesy grins Aang always used. The second person was a perfect copy of Aang save her long hair. They even both wore the same outfits, including matching necklaces.

"Woah," Zuko muttered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Katara asked worriedly.

Sokka hummed as he inspected the statue.

"Sokka, stop it!" Katara exclaimed. "It could be dangerous!"

"Dangerous? Seriously Katara?" Before Sokka could get in another word, all four eyes on the statue flashed and a blast of air flung him against another statue.

"See?!"

"Stupid statue," Sokka grumbled, rubbing his arm.

"Who is that?" Zuko asked. "And why is she a part of the avatar statue? I thought Aang was supposed to be the avatar."

"He's got a point. Do you think TwinkleToes is hiding something?"

"He probably only knows as much as we do," Katara answered.

"I don't like any of this!" Sokka exclaimed randomly. "Anyway, who put this here if the wall was blocked up?"

All eyes turned to him, and an awkward silence hung in the room. "Look guys, how about we just get some sleep. That's what I'm doing."

"Toph's actually right for once!" Katara exclaimed. "I think we all need sleep."

I sent her a glare before leaving the room with the rest of them.

I tried not to think about it, but in the morning I found myself walking back into the room of statues. There was already somebody there. A walked up beside the person and the statue they were staring at. "Hey."

"Oh, hi Toph," Katara responded, then with a sigh, "I'm worried about Aang."

"Honestly… I was kinda hoping the statue would be back to normal, too."

Katara blinked and let surprise creep across her face.

"What?" I asked defensively.

Katara laughed. "That was the most emotional thing I've heard you say for a few weeks!"

Normally, I would refuse to agree with her, but she had me there. It was a joke, but it was true. "Yeah, well… don't get used to it."

Katara wore a serious expression then, but not before she let out a laugh at Toph's retort. "You think he's okay? If this statue is supposed to represent Aang… what is this supposed to mean?"

"Technically it's supposed to represent his spot in the avatar cycle. Just sayin'..." I muttered.

"Does that mean this other girl could be another avatar?"

We both gasped at the sudden voice and turned around to see that Zuko had just walked in.

"But there can only be one avatar at a time," Katara said confusedly. "Oh no, you don't think he's…" She couldn't finish. She looked horrified at the thought.

"Don't be stupid," Zuko answered quickly, "If that happened, the statue wouldn't have changed, there'd just be a new one. The next avatar's supposed to be a waterbender, right?"

"Of course." Katara shook her head.

An awkward silence sounded, and all three of our minds were filled with thoughts of the statue. "Do you think he's gonna be alright?" Katara asked again.

"Aang can take care of himself," Zuko snapped. "If you'd forgotten, he saved the world last week. I'm sure he can protect himself from a birthday visit."

"Yeah, TwinkleToes can handle himself for a few days," I agreed, punching Katara on the arm.

"Thanks guys," Katara muttered. "I'll just feel a lot better when he gets back to explain this."

"How about we just go back upstairs and find something to do. Moping in a dark room isn't gonna help anyone."

"Good idea," Zuko said.

So the three of us did just that.


	4. Someone My Age

Apparently it's Aang's birthday today, so we decided to leave what happened in that room alone for now. We all needed to relax our minds before trying to comprehend the situation at hand. So I had spent the day with Aang and the king. I had offered many times to leave, or even just to go somewhere else for the day, but the king was very set on me staying… he seemed to know something, and he really wanted me and Aang to stay together. I had spent the entire day, actually, thinking about how the king looked familiar in some way… but I couldn't quite place it.

Anyway, we've just gotten back to the palace, and as we enter the large room, we see an extravagant spread on the table.

"Who's hungry?" the king exclaims, a wild smile plastered across his face.

"It looks great!" Aang exclaims.

"Well?"

Once we're all seated, I say to the king, "I don't know what to say, just thanks, ya know? I didn't expect any of this, especially after… earlier. I'm really sorry, Sir. I'm just so confused. And I don't understand how you're not mad."

"Fighting about it won't help anyone. What do you suppose I should have done?"

I smile. But I really am so confused, and I want answers now more than ever. What is going on? Did I really have wings? Aang's the avatar? What happened to me? How long was I frozen? How much have I missed? Why is the king being so nice to me? Why is he so calm about this? But, most of all, I want to know what happened to the airbenders. If what Aang said was true… I can't think of anything that would wipe out all of them… "I know this is awkward to bring up, but… what happened?"

"With what?" Aang responds.

"The… the other airbenders. They're too strong to have just died out."

Aang and the king exchange worried glances, then he turns to me again and says hesitantly, "There's been a war."

"War? How long?"

He pauses, even more hesitantly. "The past… century."

It hits me like blow to the head. A hundred years. I've been frozen for a hundred years… it can't be… everyone and everything I knew is gone now… "I can't believe it… a hundred years."

Aang, who's sitting beside me, rests a hand on my shoulder and says, "I'm really sorry. I wish I hadn't broken it to you that way."

I pause, then glance at him and say, "The war. It's still going, right?"

"Well, no."

"No?"

"Ya know how I'm the avatar?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I ended up winning the final battle."

I stop in the middle of a bite and almost choke. "What?!" I exclaim with my mouth full. I swallow my bite and continue. "You won a century-long war?! You say that like it's nothing!"

"Well…"

"I think you're too modest!"

"Uh… hey, what was that anyway?"

"What?"

"The wings, and…"  
"Oh… I don't know. I don't know anything about what's going on. Probably less than you." To be honest, I'm embarrassed. No one's ever heard of what's happening to me, and now I'm off destroying people's stuff with it?! "I'm so sorry! I would never have done that normally, I'm uncontrollable! I don't understand why you don't want to punish me…"

"It's not a big deal, right?" Aang asks the king.  
"Well, I'm not upset if that's what you're asking."

"How could you be not upset? I… I destroyed that room, and-"

But he cuts me off. "-I already said that I'm not upset and no amount of convincing will change that."

"Thanks… but I still don't think I should be here. We don't know what that was...What if it happens again? I… I can't just go around destroying everything whenever I get upset. I could have hurt someone."

"But no one was hurt," Aang responds. "It's not your fault."  
"It doesn't matter if it's my fault. It could still happen again, and not everyone's so forgiving."

"Well, maybe-" Aang starts, but the king interrupts him.

"Time for bed! I'm sure you're both tired. Follow me."

It's strange how the king cut us off so fast when we approached controlling my abilities, but I am tired, and I owe him, so I listen and follow him, and Aang follows close behind.

The king leads us to a room with two beds on opposite sides of the room, and leaves immediately with a grin, closing the door behind him. "Is he usually like that?" I ask.

"Not quite. I don't know why he's acting different now. He might just be tired, or maybe he has something to do."

We sit on the edges of our beds - I take the bed on the left and Aang takes the one on the right - and I sigh deeply.

"We can look into it some more," Aang says. "That looked a lot like the avatar state, maybe I can help."

"That's what the avatar state looks like?"

"Yup, just without the wings."

"I wonder if it feels the same," I think aloud.

"What did it feel like?"

I take a deep breath. I'll probably sound crazy, but… "It was terrifying. I felt so powerful, and I couldn't control myself. I didn't know what was gonna happen; I could have seriously hurt one of you. Mostly… I was scared of what I was gonna do, because I could have done anything. I don't know… It was like I turned on and… energy just surged through me!" Then I realize the strange face Aang's making and I stop. "Sorry, I'm just ranting now."

"No, that's just… that's exactly how I would describe the avatar state!"

"Really?" I ask. "You don't think…it could be related to that?"

I look across the room and Aang looks as deep in thought as I am. "Couldn't be," he mutters. "But it was something… and, whatever it was, it looked just like it… and felt like it, too."

"But that's impossible."

"That's what we would have said about the wings," Aang reasons, and the smile he sends me reminds me once again of the boy from my visions.

Okay, I think it's time I should tell him. It's the only thing I haven't mentioned yet, and he looks just like that boy… "I have a confession."

"What?" Aang asks, probably wondering what else I could have to hide.

"I had a vision. Two actually, when I was frozen. And you look just like him, and you're the avatar…"  
"Okay, tell me."

I take a deep breath. And I tell him about both visions, and everything that happened in them.

"Woah." Aang bends forwards and rests his head in his hands.

"What?" I ask, desperate to learn anything I can. "What is it?"

"Those are like my memories. I remember that! Why would you have gotten visions about it?"

"That's just it, I don't know! But I have one question. If you were frozen, like in my visions… how long were you frozen? Ya know, at least I don't _look_ about a hundred and thirteen!"

"I was frozen until earlier this year. Wow, I never thought I'd find someone else my age after being frozen for a century!"

"I'm glad we have each other… thanks for being so nice to me."

"It's not a problem. I try to be nice to everyone."

I yawn, and I hear Aang yawning with me. We both laugh. "It looks like we could some sleep."

"Yeah."

Within ten minutes we were both asleep.


	5. Time To Find

When I wake up, Aang's still asleep, and our conversation from last night begins playing through my head. 'That's what we would have said about the wings.' Could it really be possible? Could whatever happened to me be related to the avatar state in some way?

I've only been in this new world for a day now, but it feels like it's been so much longer...

I look around the room. On each of the side tables beside the beds sits a brown messenger bag, that I don't remember seeing last night. I walk over and open mine to see a note rolled up in it. I take the note and face Aang's bed. With a mischievous smile, I bend the covers off of him, and they land on his head as he shoots straight up in bed. "Agh! I'm awake!"

"Morning!" I say cheerfully. "My bag had a note in it."

"Huh?" Aang asks, pullinging the covers off his head.

"The side tables both have bags on them, and mine had a note in it. Listen to this." I unroll the note and read it.

"Look around, if you please, and find these little things for me.

Keep on searching, till the last look, where you will find a type of book.

Make sure to keep the things you've found, whether in the clouds or underground.

Search and search and don't slow down, save all your time to win the round.

You have until the sun goes down.

Clue one: A set of challenges you've long been through, find the arena and luck is on you."

"It's a scavenger hunt!" Aang exclaims.

"What do you think the first clue means?"

"Don't know. What did it say again?"

"A set of challenges you've long been through, find the arena and luck is on you. A set of challenges you've long been through... sound familiar?"

For a moment Aang sits in thought, then a sudden realization seems to hit him. "Aha! I think I know where to look."

Aang leads me down a few halls and stops in front of a door. "Here," he says, opening the door. "We have to go through all of these."

The doors lead to a short hall, and suddenly we find ourselves on a balcony overlooking a cavernous room. The top and bottom of the room are covered in stalactites and stalagmites, and a waterfall runs straight through the middle of it. "We have to get through how many of these?" I ask, my eyes caught on the perfectly sharp points of the stalagmites.

"Only three. Yeah, there were made to be dangerous."

"Made to be dangerous?"

"Well, it's a long story, but the king is actually an old friend of mine, and he set this up for me so I could guess who he was. They were made to be dangerous because they were challenges. Each one harder than the last and you really had to think to get through them. This one, I had to get a key from the waterfall, the next I had to get his pet, and the last I actually had to fight him!"

"Fight him? But he's like a gazillion years old!"

"Oh no, he might even be the most powerful earthbender in the whole world! And he could outsmart anyone!"

"You seem to be pretty good friends. How long have you known each other?"

"As long as I can remember."

"What's his name, anyway, the king?"

"Oh, it's Bumi. His name is Bumi."

"Bumi?! It can't be the same one."

"You knew Bumi too?"

"Yeah, it makes sense. I can't believe he's still alive! That must be why he looked so familiar."

"Are you sure it's the same one?"

"He acts just like him. Anyway, how many Bumi's do you know?"

"Good point."

"I can't believe it!" Me and Bumi had been friends ever since my first visit to Omashu. "See ya, Aang!" I exclaim suddenly, jumping the stalagmites one by one.

"Hey, wait for me!" Aang calls, following close behind.

"Well that was easy. Let's go."

As we enter the next room, I can easily tell why Aang would have found Bumi's pet in it. The section we're in has straw lining the bottom and huge pet toys are scattered around. The pet's not here at the moment. But I'm not sure what's supposed to be challenging about this room. "Um… what are we supposed to do?"

"Not sure. Head to the other end I guess."

So we do just that, but a wall of earth shoots up and covers the doorway just before we can pass through. "Should have seen that coming. Have any other ideas?" I ask.

"I'm blank."

"We need another exit. Oh, I've got an idea! I saw a piece back there that looked like a giant tree, and it had a hole in it! Maybe we need to go through there."

"Nice thinking!"

We find the tree piece and enter it. It leads down a long hall into a seating row of an arena of some sort. "Is this it?" I ask. "The arena?"

"Yup."

We jump down and look around around. In the center is a raised platform housing two bags, one with a rolled up note sticking out of it, and we begin to walk towards it. "This is too easy," I say uncomfortably.

"Yeah…"

We're almost there when pillars of earth shoot up and send us flying. We sit up, look at each other, sigh, and stand. "That's what I thought," I mutter. "Okay, I've got an idea, but you'll have to trust me.'

"Got it."

"Follow me," I say, beginning to run around the edge of the arena.

Aang immediately copies me on the other side. As if he'd read my mind, he crosses me in the back and we circle around to the front, then turn and run, side by side, straight towards the center. We grow closer and, once again, the pillars shoot up and head straight for us. We're on a collision course, just like I want. "We're gonna crash!" Aang exclaims.

"I know what I'm doing. Just jump when I say, okay?"

We keep running, closer and closer, another second and we'll be hit again. "Now!"

Me and Aang jump, do a flip in the air, and land on the platform in perfect sync. We smile widely at each other. "That was awesome!" Aang exclaims.  
"I know! That looked so much cooler than it did in my head!"

Without another word, we pick up the bags and open them. We pull out identical necklaces that each have a brown string and a circular charm that claims the air symbol. "This is just like the one that broke a few days ago." Aang says happily, and we both put on our necklaces.

"What's the note say?"

Aang takes out the note and reads it.

"Congratulations on what you've found, now find the next clue before the alarm can sound.

Clue two: Find the place where a temple abounds, soar through the air and follow the clouds.

Find the grounds, the highest in town, where peace and relaxation can be found."

"That one's a little more complicated. What did it mean, follow the clouds?"

"Not sure. But whatever it means, I doubt it wants us down here."

So we head upstairs and find our way out of the castle. I'm surprised at how late it is. It must be nearly noon, and we've only finished the first riddle-challenge. "That doesn't look good," I say.

"Yeah, we'd better hurry. How many of these do you think there'll be?"

"Good question. I hope there aren't too many, though. We only have until sunset."

"Let's not waste any time, then."

"We know it's somewhere high," I say.

"And peaceful," Aang continues.

"Might have something to do with clouds."

"And it's a temple."

After a moment of thought, we exclaim in unison, "The Peak!"

The Peak is a temple on the highest point in Omashu. It's actually beside Omashu, but has always been considered an Omashu monument nonetheless.

"Should I call Appa?"

"O'course not," I respond, "we'll fly, just like the note said. You have a glider, right?"

"Of course!" Aang holds his glider forward. "What about you?"

"I have one," I say, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a perfectly smooth stick, about a fourth the length of my arm.

"Is that your glider?" Aang asks confusedly.

"Yeah. I'll show you how it works." I turn it over and point out two holes in the center. "See these holes? Well, since the ends are blocked up, I just airbend into the holes, and-" The stick pops out to a full-length glider and opens up, ready to fly. "Ta-da!" I exclaim, holding it forward.

"Woah!" Aang exclaims, examining the glider. "That's amazing!"

"Well, you have a lot of extra time when you live on an island in the middle of nowhere. Let's go, we're losing time."

Aang pops open his glider and we jump off. We fly high, above Omashu palace, and fly in large, slow circles, in opposite directions of each other. "I think it's this way," I say, flicking my head in the direction of the clouds.

"Coming!"

About five minutes later, I spot something in the clouds. A perfectly circular formation, not bothering the path of any clouds around it. It was surrounding the top of something. "Aang, that looks like The Peak!"

"Let's try and land."

We fly into the cloud formation and land, breathing heavily. We're beside a temple, with nothing higher, just off the edge of Omashu mountain. Gasping, I look at Aang, who also looks tired from the flight. "I'll- be there- in just a minute," I say.

"You okay?" he asks with a laugh.

"Yeah… Usually I don't get tired so easily. I guess being frozen for a hundred years tires you out," I say comically, gasping between sentences. "Okay… let's go."

"Where should we look first?"

"Hmm… I have a feeling it's not inside the temple. Let's try around back."

The mountain peak is so high up it's covered in a layer of snow, and it's pretty windy, making the whole place cold, but it nonetheless has a peaceful air about it that I don't think anything can ruin. Now we walk behind it, and the first thing I notice is a large wooden frame with ripped cloth hanging over it. We push past the cloth and enter the frame. The ground is scattered with helmets that look to be fire nation. It confuses me, but I look at Aang and am surprised to see that he looks really upset about something. He's sort of in a weird trance, and he looks like… like he's about to cry. "You okay?" I ask confusedly.

"Yeah, yeah," he says, wiping his eyes. "This is where I learned about the airbenders."

"Here?"

"Not here, this is just a model, but…"

"Oh. Let's just grab the bags and get out of here."

"Yeah."

We take the bags and open them. Mine has the note, and they both hold an assortment of miscellaneous foods. "Perfect timing!"

It's gotten pretty late, but we've finally finished the last riddle-challenge. There were nine in total, and the prizes had varied from small snacks to random trinkets, to skipping stones.

This time there's only one bag, which we found on a small patch of grass filled with Koala-Sheep.

"-and meet me back where it all started."

"It must mean the palace! First let's open this bag."

"Definitely."  
We open the bag together and pull out a large scroll, which we lay flat on the ground. It's head-to-toe covered in complicated bending moves of all nations, including air. "Woah!" we exclaim together.

"The sun is almost set," I warn suddenly, glancing up to the sky.

Aang also looks up. "Yikes! Let's go, I'll call Appa."

A few minutes later we rush back up the palace steps and into the main room, the guards opening and closing the doors behind us. "Thanks!"

We stop and look around, expecting to see Bumi, but we're faced with an empty room. "Huh? Where is he?"

"I don't-" I stutter. Suddenly I understand. "It didn't start here, it started back in the room! It said 'meet me back where it all started!'"

"Let's go!"

So we hurry back through the halls and burst into the room we had stayed in. And there was Bumi, the one I had spent so much time with, sitting in the back of the room. "So… did you figure it out?"

I smile. "Bumi, you're a mad genius!"

Without wasting another second, I run up and hug him. "It's been a while, Elian."

In a few minutes, Bumi leaves. "I have to ask you something," Aang says.

"Huh?"

"Why didn't Bumi mention you before?"


	6. Home At Last

I'm sitting on a ledge by one of the mail chutes with my arms wrapped around my legs. It's about mid-day, and I can feel the warmth of the sun wrapping around me. A small tap on my shoulder makes me look up, and I see Aang. "You okay?" he asks.

"I don't know," I answer. "I've just got a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

I sigh and draw my eyes back to the ground, my legs still clutched against my body. "I don't get it," I mutter, almost to myself. I've been thinking about what happened two days ago. I just can't wrap my head around it.

"Don't get what?"

"Well, I don't understand any of this, but… mainly it's those wings I've been thinking about."

"Oh. We'll figure it out."

"Yeah, eventually. But that doesn't help anything right now. What if that happens again? What if it happens again and I… what if I hurt you?" I shake my head.

"We're both gonna be fine," he says reassuringly. "It'll take work, but if that happens again, you'll learn to control it. I know you will."

"Thanks Aang."

I hear someone walking up to us and I glance behind me. "Looks like you'll be leaving soon," Bumi says.

"Yeah… but I wanna do something first."

In mere seconds we're racing down the mail chute, Bumi in one cart, me and Aang in another. We fly down the chute with increasing speed until we land with a crash at the bottom, all laughing. I miss that already. Joy. Being happy. Not worrying about hurting someone, but that worry and panic returns quickly. As if sensing my discomfort, Bumi turns to us and says, looking up, "You should be on your way. Your friends will be worried if you stay any longer."

Aang slaps a hand to his forehead. "I completely forgot! I told them I was gonna be back yesterday! We gotta go, now."

"Let's go then!"

Aang calls Appa and I call Tiki and Cosmo, we get on our bison, and Cosmo curls up in my lap, wrapping his tail around my arm. "Yip-Yip!"

"It was nice seeing you again, Bumi!" I call over my shoulder while Aang waves.

It's been about fifteen minutes, and I finally decide to strike up a conversation. "So where are we going?"

"Oh, the palace. The royal palace at the fire nation."

"Will the water girl be there?"

"Oh yeah, that's Katara, she's a waterbender. The other one was Sokka, but he doesn't bend. Then we have Toph, she's an earthbender, and Zuko's a firebender."

"So five of you altogether."

"Yup."

"How'd you meet the other two? Toph and the firebender."

"Well, we met Toph at a battle arena and she joined our team. Zuko's a long story."  
"Well, we've got plenty of time," I say, leaning back.

"Okay, so first we met him at the north pole where I woke up-"

It's taken a few hours for Aang to explain all about Zuko, but he's told me about Toph and bits and pieces from their adventures too. "It sounds like Zuko had a tough life," I say, sitting up.

"Yeah..."

"I feel bad for him, when he was chasing you. It was a lost cause, and he had to know that. He was so desperate and determined…"

"He found his way," Aang responds proudly.

He really thinks of these people as family, doesn't he? "How did you meet the avatar before you, again? Roku?"

"That'll have to wait. We're here."

As we fly over a mountain, an enormous palace comes into view. "Woah!" Now that I think about it, I've never actually seen the palace itself. It's huge, with amazing gardens and beautiful, skillful coloring, and a shape unique to most fire nation architecture. We land in a side area, get off the bison, and walk into a door across the clearing, which leads to a hallway. "Guys, I'm back!" Aang calls.

No answer. He calls out again. "Hello? I'm back!"

For a few moments there is, again, no answer as we continue down the hall. But soon I hear footsteps and Katara runs around the corner. "Aang!" she exclaims with tear-filled eyes. She runs up and hugs him. "Never do that again! I was so worried!"

She pauses as she notices me, and immediately her face runs blank. Behind her, the other three run around the corner and, noticing me, give the same blank expressions as Katara. It almost seems like they know me somehow… "Um…"

"This is Elian," Aang says, clearly noticing the awkwardness. "I met her the morning after I left."

I take a few deep breaths and glance around the hallway. Too small… I can never think in confined spaces. "W-We can explain everything, but...can we do it outside?"

"Yeah, good idea." I just now notice how alike my and Aang's voices are. If you couldn't see us, you wouldn't be able to tell who was who…

The others follow me and Aang out to the area, and I'm surprised to see that none of them seem to notice Tiki in the back. "I don't think they like me much," I whisper nervously to Aang.

"I'm sure they're just surprised to see another airbender. I'll handle this." He turns to the others. "This is Elian. I stopped at the island she lived on on my way there, and I found her in the morning. She was frozen, like me. I took her with me to Omashu, and while we were there, I might have let it off a bit harsh about the other airbenders-" Aang pauses and glances at me and I nod for him to continue. "So… she got pretty upset, and something happened. She… "

"We don't know what it was," I interject.

"Yeah… she was glowing, like the avatar state. And she got wings, made of the elements. Big wings. I calmed her down, and… she stayed with me and Bumi for the rest of the day. He wasn't mad, but I think he looked like he knew something. Anyway, in the morning we did this scavenger hunt that Bumi set up, and that took the whole day. He set it up like he did the challenges for me. He was friends with Elian before. And we left this morning."

A loud, yet soft, groan interrupts him, and everyone turns to see Appa eating some straw that was spread on the ground and Tiki, who was slightly smaller and had darker brown accents. "Who's this?" Katara asks, walking up to her. It's obvious that she wants to avoid mentioning the crazy situation. I don't blame her.

Cosmo jumps off of Tiki's back and lands on my shoulder, resting his head on mine. "Guys, meet my friends, Tiki and Cosmo," I say, gesturing first to the female sky bison, then to the lemur-bat resting on my head.

Katara pets the side of Tiki's head. "They're so pretty."

"They're pretty great, huh?" I decide to bring my mind back to serious matters and I ask Toph, "Did something happen after Aang left?"

Everyone freezes and looks at me. "Oh, yeah. You're not the only one who saw something weird in the past few days."

The other three; Sokka, Katara, and Zuko; exchange glances and look in between me and Aang. "W-What is it?"

"You have to see it for yourself," Katara says.

Me and Aang exchange confused glances and follow them into the hall. They stop us in front of a wall that's had a large hole smashed through it. They give us odd looks and enter, and we enter behind them. All I see is a bunch of statues. "Okay… they're all avatars," Aang points out.

"Take a look at yours, TwinkleToes."

Curious, I follow her finger to the statue of Aang. It's not like any other statue, because it's of two people rather than one. Aang and another airbender, Aang and… me. 'But I'm not the avatar,' I think. 'I've never been.'

Me and Aang exchange meaningful looks, both of us obviously thinking the same thing. "You don't think…" Aang mutters, quoting what I had said the night of the event with the wings.

"Couldn't be."

"But…"

"That's what we would have said about the wings."

I hear laughing behind me and me and Aang turn and ask, in perfect unison, "What?"

Everyone laughs, except for Zuko, who merely smiles. "I'm confused though," I say. "If these are all statues of avatars… what happened?"

"That's the thing," Sokka says. "We don't know."

"We were hoping you would be able to explain," Katara says.

I look back to the statue, and I notice the big, cheesy grins that are plastered on my and Aang's stone faces. "Do I really look like that when I smile?" me and Aang ask.

We burst out laughing, and even Zuko joined a little this time. "Is this gonna happen all the time?" Toph asks, trying to sound irritated.

"Probably."

Once again we both speak, and everyone laughs, and at this point I know I'm going to get along with this group. I have to think on more serious matters, however. "So… what does this mean? Are you sure they're all avatars?" I ask the question, but I already know the answer.

"Yup, these are avatars alright. That one's Roku, and that's Kyoshi, and that's Kuruk, and that's Yangchen. She's the air avatar before me."

"Wow, we have a lot learn… but I vote we figure it out in the morning."

"Yeah, I'm tired too," Aang says.

"Uh… I think there's a room by Aang's you can take," Zuko says awkwardly as we walk through the halls.

We step into a split where the hallway splits into three other halls, and the others enter the hallways to their assigned rooms. I pause in the middle. "Over here!" Aang calls from the hall to the left.

I smile and follow him, and Cosmo runs up and sits on my shoulder. "It doesn't feel right," I say uneasily, pausing in front of my doorway.

"What doesn't?" Aang asks.

"I don't know… something just doesn't feel right. Like something's gonna happen… like it's not safe. Do you think I'm just tired?"

"Maybe. We'll figure it out in the morning. What could happen overnight?"

"Yeah… g'night Aang."

" 'Night."

I enter my room and collapse on the bed, but with my mind so busy I forget to close the door. I wonder what's gonna happen? I'm glad that, whatever happens, I have Aang to watch my back. I really feel something different about him. Something good, and not just because he's the avatar. There's something about him that I don't know… but I know he feels like family. Even though I've only known him for a few days, I'd be willing to do anything for him. 'G'night Aang,' I think.


	7. Home Flaming Home

I wasn't actually tired last night. Not at all, I was overwhelmed. But I couldn't have told them that. What would they have thought of me if, right after they met me, I just snapped? No, I couldn't have told even Aang. A good night's rest did me well though, it should all be fine today.

I open my eyes and look around, and I notice the fire before I notice how difficult it is to breathe. Smoke has filled the room and the hall. Smoke so thick that the doorway is just out of sight. A thought comes to me and I gasp, immediately regretting it. My heart races as I sit up, coughing and thinking that this must be a sick dream. I try to clear my head, and I begin frantically patting the blankets. "Cosmo!" He pops his head out at the sound of my voice and coughs a few times. "Go!" I exclaim. "Get outside!"

He obeys immediately and runs into the smoke-filled hallway. With a cough, I stand and make my way into the hall, using the wall for support and direction. I strain my eyes to see, but it's worse out here than it was in there. A loud crack fills the hall and immediately after, a bright blue glow coming from Aang's room appears. I'm about to take a step when the large elemental wings sprout from my back with a flash of white, making me sure it's all a dream. "Wha-" I stutter, but a fit of coughing stops me.

'That doesn't matter now,' I think, shaking my head. And I make my way down the hall and into Aang's room through the flaming doorway. A protective bubble of air surrounds him on his bed. Cautiously, I reach my hand forwards, preparing to bend the bubble back, but it disappears as soon as I get close. The next second, Aang leaves the avatar state and simultaneously, my wings leave my back, just like they did the previous time. I cover my mouth, trying not to gasp this time, and freeze. I cough and lean over the mattress, shaking Aang as hard as I can. He won't move, or even twitch, but I can't stay here, neither of us can last long in this smoke. I grab his arms and hold him over one shoulder, and with my other hand I lean on the wall and work towards the doorway and down the hall. The others run out of the hallways just as I enter the four-way split. "Is he alright?" Katara asks with a cough.

"There's no time to explain, what's the quickest way out of here?" I ask hurriedly.

"Follow me," Zuko says, and we follow him out of the building. I hurry across the clearing, but a feeling of unease forces my head back to see five men running after us, all wearing black uniforms with the fire insignia on the upper left, and solid white masks. "We're being followed!" I shout ahead of me.

Everyone glances back at our pursuers. I stare ahead and move as fast as I can, slowed down by the weight of Aang. The only sound that reaches my ears is the crackling of the burning palace, and I glance back again. One of the masked men gives Zuko a few quick jabs in the back. Zuko blasts them back and falls to all fours. "Katara! Take Aang!"

She drops back and gently takes him from me, then rushes ahead and calls for Appa and Tiki. I run back and hold a hand out to Zuko. "I'm fine," he says defiantly, tries to swat my hand away, and falls with a grunt.

"We don't have time for this!" I shout, and force one of his arms around my shoulders. We walk back to the two bison, and I airbend myself and Zuko onto TIki, just in time. "Yip-Yip!"

The bison take off, with Cosmo already waiting on Tiki's back. On Appa, a lemur who's white and short furred sits on Aang and tilts his head to one side.

"What did they do to me?!" Zuko demands, thrusting his arm forwards. "Urgh! I thought only Tylee could do that!"

"I guess anyone could do it if they knew how," Katara thinks aloud.

Before she can continue, Sokka interrupts her. "What happened to Aang?"

"I don't know. He was like that when I got to him."

"So how do we fix him?" Toph asks.

"I don't know…" After a moment of silence, I mention what I've been fearing since I saw Aang this morning. "It looks like he's got smoke in his lungs. I think I know what to do, but we'll need to find a town to land at for the day. He might need time to recover…"

They all nod, except for Zuko. I glance behind me and spot him watching the palace burn with misty eyes. Zuko's really had a tough life. He finally gets to return home, and it's burned to the ground. As the palace gets out of eyeshot, a single tear slides down Zuko's cheek and he turns away.


	8. Scarred

The flight has been short, but it's seemed to be the longest stretch of time I've ever experienced. "Let's land down there," I say, pointing to an area. It's a wide ravine with a waterfall pouring into it, a stream stretching across its center. I have a strange feeling about it; as if it's calling me somehow; as if something important will happen if we land there.

I'm shaken out of my thoughts when the bison land and Katara calls me over to where she's laid Aang down by the stream. I walk over and glance at her nervously. "You'll be fine," she assures.

"I've never done this move before. If I get this wrong…"

"If you don't try, he might not make it. You're our last chance, Elian."

I can't ignore the logic in that. If I don't try, he's gonna be dead soon, and if I do try, there's a chance he won't survive… I have to try. I take a deep breath and nod to Katara, who backs up as I kneel next to my fellow airbender. Taking another deep breath, I set my hands at the ready and slide them back and forth above Aang. I can feel the smoke now, how much there is. His lungs are completely filled with it; this is gonna be difficult. But I have to try… I hold my breath and focus everything I have on Aang. This is where it gets really difficult. I focus solely on the smoke, blocking out everything else, and begin to take control of the smoke's movements. I blindly ease the smoke from him - out of his lungs, through his throat, out of his mouth - and I watch desperately as he lay perfectly still. A few moments later, to my utter relief, Aang shifts and slowly opens his eyes, coughs, and sits up. "Katara!" I shout excitedly, even though I don't need to call for her. "I did it!"

Everyone surges forward, and Aang smiles at the sight of his friends surrounding him. "Where am I?"

"- so we ended up here." I've told Aang everything since last-night, up to the point where we landed in this clearing.

"How'd you get the smoke out?" he asks, glancing down at his chest.

"I used airbending," I answer.

"Really?!" Aang exclaims, his eyes lighting up. I nod. "That's amazing!"

"Uh, excuse me, but, what's amazing?" Toph asks.

"The move she did. It's a really tough move. Only the greatest bending masters perform it successfully more than once!"

"But I did the same thing for you with waterbending," Katara says confusedly.

"Yeah, but that was waterbending. This is airbending."

"So…" Sokka mutters, gesturing for Aang to continue.

Aang continued his explanation like a child going to see a play - faster and more excitedly as he went. "When you do it with airbending, you have access to all the air in the body, so one wrong move, even the wrong focus, and whoever's performing the move could drain all the air from the body, and suffocate their patient in under a second!"

"That's why I was so worried about doing it," I tell Katara. Before anyone can say anything else, I spot a white mask leaning against a rock on the other side of the clearing, and I walk over and pick it up.

"Were they ambushed?" Zuko asks.

"There's no sign of a struggle. They left it for us to find; they want us to know they're watching us," Sokka concludes, inspecting the area around the rock.

"That's creepy…" Katara mutters.

"Yeah," Toph adds. "Way to go, you've officially been dubbed not friendly."

"Yeah… I think I saw a village that way. I'm gonna go find some food to bring for wherever we go next." Without waiting for a response, I leave.

"Wait!" someone calls. Aang runs up beside me. "I'm coming too."

"Are you sure? You might not be ready…"  
"I'm fine. Thanks to you."

As we near the village, I get the strangest feeling that we're being watched. I look around, but since I see nothing, I push the thought to the back of my mind and enter the marketplace with Aang.

On our way out of the village, we spot a boy that looks to be twelve or thirteen – he's wearing long sleeves that hang past his hands, and he has dark red hair, bright green eyes, and freckles covering his nose and cheeks - being pushed roughly back from a stall. We glance at each other and walk closer to the commotion. "If you don't have anything, get away from my stall!" bellows the stall attendant.

The fire-nation boy stands and brushes off his clothes, then hangs his head and leaves. "Sorry for wasting your time," he mutters.

I run up to the counter, pay for the two fruits sitting on it, and me and Aang grab it and rush up to the boy. "Wait!"

He stops in his tracks and turns around. "Here." Me and Aang hold the fruits out to him.

He takes them from our hands, and he looks pretty surprised. Taking a second look at our faces, he shoves the fruit in his pockets as his surprise seems to grow by tenfold and he places his hands together and bows. "It's an honor to meet you both. Hey, could you spare some time? I know my dad would really like to meet you."

"I don't see why not," I answer with a shrug.

"Follow me," he says, darting down the street. We follow him until he stops in front of a house, says, "Wait here," and rushes in.

Hushed voices speak from inside the house, the second of which sounds very similar to the boy's, but lower, and older. "Are you sure?" the second voice asks.

"Dad, it has to be! I know it!"

"I just didn't think they would ever come back."  
"I know, dad, but I'm sure it's them!"

"Well then, let them in."

Footsteps echo and the boy opens the door, eagerly urging us in. "Name's Kuzon, by the way."

'Kuzon?' I think. I'd had a friend named Kuzon before I was frozen.

We walk into the house and look around. It has a relaxing and homey feel to it, but it's definitely not full of anything expensive. It looks like these people have been low on money for a while. A man, Kuzon's dad no doubt, stands in front of us. He studies us carefully and, as a realization seems to hit him, he looks at us lovingly, with misty eyes. "I must apologize. Let me explain myself, but may I ask you your names first? I'm Tylon."

"My name is Elian, and this is Aang."

Both of their faces shine with confirmation and joy at my words. "I knew it!" Kuzon exclaims.

"You really are the ones my father always spoke of," Tylon mutters. "You're the ones that disappeared."

Me and Aang exchange confused looks, and Tylon continues. "My father knew you in his early years. You were great friends, in fact. But one day, you just disappeared. My father went to the southern air-temple, where you were both raised, in search of you, but... He would have been known to you as Kuzon. He lived a long, proud life, and he died in battle against the fire-nation armies." He gestures to the boy we had just met. "I named my son after him for his bravery and courage. He dedicated his life to stopping that war no matter what it took, and he always said that you would have done the same. There was never an end to his silly stories about your adventures together. You both made a rather mischievous team with him."

I glance at him, then Kuzon, then Aang; and I notice that Aang looks distant. "Aang?"

"Sorry," Aang says, shaking himself back to reality. "You said we were both raised at the southern air-temple, right?"

Tylon nods. "That's what my father always told me."

"How come we didn't know each other before?" Aang asks me.

"Oh, well… I didn't exactly grow up there. I just lived there until I was old enough to be on my own. I left after that. I liked it better that way; less controlled, I guess. I travelled around for a while and met a whole bunch of awesome people, but I ended up staying on an island in the earth-kingdom. Pretty close to the fire-nation border actually. My airbending teacher came out to my island all the time to train with me. He was great."

"Who was he?"

"My teacher?" My airbending teacher was always like a father to me. I know he loved me just as much as I had loved him; he always told me so. "Monk Gyatso taught me."

Aang froze. "He taught me too."

"I heard much of Monk Gyatso from my father. You were both in great hands -"

A loud scream interrupts him and all four of us rush outside to see a group of at least twenty men with black outfits and solid white masks marching down the street and entering houses. Every house behind them was destroyed: multiple houses were on fire, some had earth pillars jutted through them, some had been crushed with ice; they were moving fast, and people were terrified throughout the whole village. "Kuzon, you must get out of here," Tylon demands. "All three of you must. Hurry, I'll do my best to keep them back as long as I can."

"Dad, no! They won't show mercy on you! You know that!"

"They're after us," I say quickly. "If we leave, they'll follow us and they'll leave you alone. You have to hide."

"No one has to get hurt," Aang agrees.

Tylon shakes his head and stands protectively in front of me, Aang, and Kuzon. "You don't understand. They've come before, and they don't have mercy in them to show. Many have died by their hands, including my wife - Kuzon's mother. But they've never been this violent. They're not going to stop until this entire village has fallen. This is your only chance; run!"

"Come with us," I plead.

"There's no time!" he shouts. "Please… take my son with you and get as far away from this place as possible. NOW!"

"But dad-"

"GO!" He glances back for a mere moment with tears in his eyes. "I love you Kuzon. I always have, and I always will. Goodbye." With that, he lights a fire atop his hands and turns determinedly towards the oncoming men.

"Dad!" Kuzon cries desperately as we pull him from the street. "DAD!"

When we reach the ravine, the others are already waiting impatiently for our return. "What happened?" Katara asks. "Is it the masked-men?"

I glance behind me. I can see many towers of smoke rising from the village, and the wind carries screams all the way to our ravine. Toph's voice interrupts my thoughts. "Who's the depressed one?"

"This is Kuzon. He's the grandson of a good friend me and Aang had before the war. The masked-men attacked the village and his father stayed back to fight. We have to move fast and get out of here before they find us."

We've flown the rest of the day. Not to a specific place; not in a specific direction. Just away from the village and the masked-men. We've stopped for the night and set out sleeping bags, though me and Kuzon lay on the bare ground. I can't fall asleep; I can't stop thinking about Kuzon and his poor dad.

Kuzon stands suddenly from the ground - he hasn't been sleeping either - and walks off.

That same night, Zuko sits on a large rock separate from the camp, staring blindly in the direction of where the fire-nation palace once stood. He came here for space to think and be by himself. He hasn't spoken once for that entire day and multiple people have asked him if he is doing alright. He doesn't want everyone checking up on him, he wants to be alone!

If only he hadn't spoken up that day; he would have had his whole life to live in that palace and not just a week! He could have lived in the palace for years and years, but that's impossible now; and all because he had spoken his mind once as a child.

Zuko places a hand gently over his scarred eye, but brings it down quickly at the sound of soft footsteps in the grass behind him. He glances back and Kuzon is standing a few feet from the rock. "That's a bad scar," Kuzon mutters.

Zuko turns away and stares into the distance again. Kuzon sits on the rock beside him, but he doesn't move, he can only think of wanting to be alone again. "I'm sorry about whatever happened to you," Kuzon says.

"It was a long time ago," Zuko grumbles.

"Did you disobey them too?"

Zuko raises an eyebrow curiously. "You could say that. What did they do to you?"

Zuko's eyes widen as Kuzon pulls back his left sleeve, revealing a scarred and disfigured arm. "See?" Kuzon says kindly, letting his sleeve back down. "We were both hurt by our own element."

For the first time in days, Zuko cracks a grin. "What happened to you?"

"They take you off to the barracks to train for the war when you turn nine, right? I refused. I never wanted to fight unless I was fighting _against_ the fire-nation army, like my grandfather. They sure didn't like that! This was my punishment. They said they were using me as an example for others. I would do it again if I had to, though…"

There's a long moment of silence before Zuko speaks up quietly. "My father was the fire-lord. I spoke up in one of his meetings."

Kuzon doesn't come back for nearly twenty minutes. When he does, he has his left sleeve pulled back and he's examining his arm, looking very thoughtful. What I see makes my voice catch in my throat, not allowing me the air to gasp. Even though it's dark now, I can still see how bad of a condition his arm is in. Scarred. Distorted. Disfigured. I can almost say that it looks shriveled. "Kuzon?" I manage to whisper.

He drops his sleeve with a gasp. "Elian, you're awake still."

"What happened to your arm?"

He looks down. "You saw…"

"When did that happen?"

"Three years ago... When you turn nine-years-old, they have someone collect you and send you to the barracks to train to become a soldier for the war… I didn't go with them..."

I'm silent for a few moments. "You have to tell the others in the morning."

"What?"

"They'll find out on their own if you don't. Especially Toph. Aang said she sees through movement. She'll find out if she doesn't know already, and she'll tell the others, I'm sure. It's hard to make friends with someone you're keeping secrets from anyway."

"You really think I should tell them?"

"Yes. How are you doing about your dad?"

Kuzon takes a shaky breath. "He's probably already..." A sob catches his voice. "Sorry…" he mutters, wiping his face with his shirt sleeve.

"Maybe they let him live," I suggest.

Kuzon shakes his head sadly and continues, a slight squeak gripping his voice. "They've never let anyone live, and they don't like us."

I stand and hug him, not thinking about the fact that I don't know him at all. "It'll be okay…"


	9. Arguments

I wake up to the arguing yells of two people outside my makeshift tent. I stand up, lift the tent flap, and step out. It's Toph and Katara. They're both covered in mud, breathing heavily, and angrily narrowing their eyes at each other. I step in between them and say, "Please, arguing won't solve anything."

They continue to glare and Katara exclaims, "She started it!"

"Yeah right!" Toph protests.

"Are you saying this is my fault?!"

"Please…" I mutter.

"Maybe I am!" Toph snaps, ignoring my plea.

"STOP!" I thrust my arms outwards and pillars of earth shoot up from the ground and into Toph and Katara, sending them flying in either direction. They land with a sickening thud and make no move to stand. "Toph! Katara!" I cry worriedly. "AANG!"

In a second, Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Kuzon appear, bewildered. "Katara!" Sokka shouts immediately, running to her.

"I don't know what happened!" I exclaim. "I was just- and then they- what did I do?" I finish in a whisper. Tears spill from my eyes as I lower myself to the ground and wrap my arms around my knees.

Zuko and Kuzon stand speechless, and Aang, seeing that Sokka is taking care of Katara, runs to help Toph. "Are you alright?" he asks her, helping her to her feet.

"Yeah, thanks TwinkleToes," she replies. "What was that?"

"I think I might have an idea," Aang says cryptically. After seeing that Katara is on her feet, Aang slowly walks up to me. I wait for the angry outburst, since I hurt his friends, so I'm surprised when I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Elian," he says quietly. I look up. I can't make out his expression very well through my tear-blurred vision, but he doesn't seem angry.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, my eyes prickling with fresh tears.

"What happened?" he asks. "Was it- you know…?"

"I-I don't know." I bury my face in my knees again, and in a moment I say, "I think so. I'm so sorry." Aang kneels down and grips both my shoulders in his hands.

"They're both fine, Elian. It's okay." He stands, pulling me with him.

"Okay, so, I'm confused," Kuzon says.

"What happened?" Zuko asks, equally confused. I take a deep breath to steady myself.

"I think I happened," I say. This only succeeds in making them more confused.

"But I thought you were an airbender," Zuko responds.

"I am, see?" I answer, forming a mini tornado in my hand and sending it spinning away.

"Then how could this be you?" Sokka asks as he and Katara join the group.

"I'm just as confused as you are," I say. "Are you two okay?" I ask Toph and Katara.

They both nod. "I'm fine. Sorry Toph," Katara mutters.

"Yeah," Toph agrees. Suddenly, she freezes. "Guys, watch out!" she shouts.

We all turn around to find ourselves facing eight of the masked-men. "No!" I shout, instinctively raising my arms. A wave of earth shoots forwards like water, sending the men flying and nearly crushing them beneath it. Everyone's eyes turn to me. I stare at my hands, and shake myself. "We have to move!" I shout, shocking everyone back to reality. We all run for the sky bison.

"Yip-yip!" Aang and I say in unison once everyone has mounted. And we're off. Running, again, with more questions than answers. A mystery, that's what this is. One big, confusing, mystery.

"Come in," she calls out, answering the knock that had come from the other side of the metal door.

A man enters, wearing an identical outfit to those of the masked-men. "Princess," he says nervously, "I have come bearing bad news."

"What is it?"

"I am afraid the group you sent out yesterday has just returned, Princess."

"And?"

"They… Princess, they have all been sent to the hospital chambers. I am afraid the mission was not a success."

"What?" she asks, trying to keep herself calm.

The man gulps and continues hesitantly, with his head bowed. "I have gotten word, Princess, that the airbender has learned of her power to control the elements. And, Princess, she has met the firebender."

This time she cannot keep herself calm. "What?!" she shouts, her outburst echoing through the chamber.

"I am greatly sorry, Princess."

After some consideration, Nupira answers, "Go and fetch my sisters. Tell them that 'they' have found the firebender. You may leave."


	10. End Of One Story, Beginning Of Another

It's been a while since she sent for her sisters that morning. She's grown impatient. 'When are they coming?' she thinks. 'Do they think this is not important?!'

As if on cue, there's a knock on her door. She looks up from her desk and nods approvingly at the perfect timing, then rises to her feet and answers in a clear, high-pitched voice, "Come in."

The knob turns slowly and the door creaks open, and the same man from this morning enters. "Have you brought my sisters?" she asks him.

He bows and responds, "As you instructed, Princess. Shall I send them in?"  
"No, I thought we would just chat through the walls," she says sarcastically, "OF COURSE SEND THEM IN!"

The man flinches back and shakes in fear. "Y-Yes, Princess," he stammers, bowing shakily as he leaves the room.

In a few moments, the man's voice calls out, muffled by the door, after a knock. "They have arrived, Princess."

"Let them in, then!"

As soon as she speaks, she hears a few orders barked out on the other side of the door, and the knob turns. The room once again fills with the creaking of the opening doors, and three figures emerge from the shadows of the dark hallway. The torchlight glows on their faces as they enter, and the doors are closed behind them. "So, you have finally arrived?" Nupira asks.

The first figure, who has light brown hair pulled into a ponytail with two small braids hanging on either side of her face, gives no smile, but frowns with seriousness. "Is what he told us true, Nupira? Have they truly found the firebender already?"

"I am afraid so, Akunia," she answers seriously, "I need all of you here in case they discover the true extent of their power.

"We can't let that happen!" exclaims Shalia in a higher-pitched voice than Nupira. Shalia has light brown hair pulled into pigtails that hang past her waist.

"I know that, Shalia!" Nupira snaps irritably.

Shalia rolls her eyes, as if she is used to being yelled at, and Nupira continues. "So, are you in?"

"Are you kidding?" Akunia asks. "I've wanted to get back in the business for way too long. Yeah, I'm in!"

"Me too. Can't let you guys have all the fun, now can I?" says Shalia with an excited giggle, though a fake one. The look she gives directly following her comment says that it was entirely faked, staged, and anything but genuine. Luckily no one notices.

"What about you, Ikasa?" Nupira asks, addressing the third figure, who has short, ragged hair.

Ikasa, in response, hoists her bow up on her back, and the corners of her mouth perk up momentarily. With a wide smile, Nupira walks to the left wall of the room and grabs a sword off the wall, swinging it over her shoulder by the strap. "They won't see what hit them," she grinned.

Three of them burst into laughter, one of which looked down uncomfortably, while Ikasa makes no verbal reaction, and no physical except for the wild flare in her eyes that makes her more terrifying than anyone else in that room.

We'd spent all of yesterday flying and stopped for the night. It's evening now, and we're still in the air. Appa is flying smoothly; I can tell he's done this a lot, but Tiki's only used to carrying me, not three people, and she's flying very unevenly. Watching the ground move beneath me, I notice a tent appear in a small clearing. There must be someone there. "Hey guys? Do you think we could stop for the night?" I ask. "Tiki's exhausted."

Aang nods and flicks the reins on Appa, and we both land in the clearing with the tent.

Kuzon, who had been asleep, jerks up, mumbling something insensible. His hair is a ragged mess and he holds his arms up defensively. He quickly realizes where he is and relaxes. He had told the others about his arm yesterday and shown them, and he was still slightly flustered by the whole conversation. "Hey, Kuzon," I smile.

Kuzon smiles back goofily and his hands shoot up to straighten his hair. "Hey, wait up!" he shouts as he jumps off the bison after us. "Where are we going?"

"Not sure," I respond. "I guess we could see who's staying here and say hi."

"Works for me," Sokka agrees with a shrug.

Just then a short, elderly man exits the tent, and Zuko's face lights up. "Uncle!"

The man pulls Zuko into a hug and mutters, "It's been too long."

Though he doesn't look glad, he looks regretful, and troubled. Zuko breaks from the embrace and asks warmly, "What are you doing out here? I thought you were going to Ba Sing Se to run your tea shop."

"I was. But it is in good hands now, and I thought that my assistance might be needed elsewhere. Besides, this world is a beautiful place and there were places I wanted to visit still."

The man seems familiar. Like I've heard of him before… Only a moments thought, and I remember. 'That must be Iroh!' I think, remembering what Aang had told me of him on our way to the palace. I walk up to him and hold my hand out. "I'm Elian."

His eyes shine as he shakes my hand. "It's nice to finally meet you," he says.

"Finally?"

He smiles and says, "I've heard much of you."

"Has it spread this far already?" Aang asks.

"I haven't heard from people," he explains with a laugh, "I've heard from the spirits."

"The spirits?" Zuko asks doubtfully.

"Yes, the spirits," Iroh answers him. "They have accompanied me on my journeys. And they have much to say about your new friend."

"You can talk to spirits?" Aang asks.

"Mostly it is one way. I have no need to talk to them."

After soup and tea, we exchange stories around a fire until darkness falls over the clearing.

It's now, with the moon rising in the distance, that Iroh calls Zuko into his tent. A heated conversation begins inside, and we all grow silent and listen as the conversation grows into a tense argument - the shouting could have been heard from miles away - and stops abruptly. Not a second after, Zuko storms out of the tent with a face that's tear-stained and contorted with rage, and sits by the fire, seemingly holding back a flood of tears. I glance confusedly at Iroh as he leaves his tent, also with a face stained with tears, and he calls me and Aang over with a flick of his hand. "What happened?"

"I have a favor to ask you," Iroh explains. "It will take the work of both of you and it will not be easy."

"What is it?"

He pauses hesitantly, his eyes shining with fresh tears, and says, "I need you to transfer my body to the spirits."

Me and Aang freeze, refusing in all senses of the word, but we say nothing.

"I have lived a long and fulfilling life. All I had left to see was the end of this dreadful war. Now that you have given that to me, and now that my nephew is on the right path, there is nothing keeping me here. My nephew is in good hands with you by his side, and nothing could make me happier than to live with the spirits and assist them in their troubles, which I fear they may have a dangerous amount of in the future. They need my help. I'm not entirely sure why, but they ask for it, so I have to go. My only wish is that Zuko can have a life just as long and fulfilling as I have."

Me and Aang glance at each other. "We have to talk to the others about this."

We quickly walk back to the fire and the others immediately ask about our conversation. "He wants us to transfer his body to the spirits."

"He what?!" Toph demands.

I nod silently. "Is that even possible?" Sokka asks.

"It is," I say before anyone else can answer. "It hasn't been done in a really long time, and it may never be done again, but it's possible."

"That must be why Zuko's so upset," Katara mutters.

"You can't do it," Kuzon says, and then he gestures to Zuko, crying now by the fire. "Look at him."

I sigh and Aang says, "He said that the spirits told him that they would be in danger sometime in the future. And that they need his help."

"Danger? What kind of danger makes the spirits need help from Iroh?" Sokka asks.

"I don't know. He said they didn't tell him much."

"Do you even know how to do this transferring thing?" Toph asks.

"It's not something you learn," I say. "It's something you can do or you can't do. Only really powerful airbenders can do it. But I know the sequence. I studied everything I could get my hands on before I was frozen."

"No offense, but if only really powerful airbenders can do it, why is he asking for your help?" Sokka asks. "I mean, Aang I understand, but…"

"I don't know. He seemed really confident in me for never meeting me before. We could try…? Maybe he's right."

"But do we really want to?" Toph asks.

Everyone looks down, and for a moment the only sound heard is the crackling of the fire. "I do," I say. "If he's right and the spirits do need his help, he may save us. He might save the whole world, or maybe even the next avatar someday. Who knows? So, are we doing it?"

Aang nods. "Let's do it."

After telling Iroh our answer and giving Aang a detailed explanation of what he'll need to do, we move the tent aside and Aang and Iroh walk to the center of the clearing. Seeing that I'm not following them, they turn around and Aang calls my name. "Elian? I thought you we gonna help me."

I shake my head and Iroh walks up to me as I say, "I'm not powerful enough to do something like this. I'm sorry, but I'm just not powerful like you are. I'm just an airbender…"

Iroh shakes his head sadly, looks me in the eyes, and says, deadly serious, "You are just as powerful as Aang."

I freeze, and my mind goes blank. "What?"

"You will find that out when it's time. For now, your friend cannot do this alone."

I want to know more, but I nod anyway. Me and Aang sit cross-legged on either side of the small clearing, and Iroh sits the same in the center. Aang looks at me with tear-filled eyes and I nod, trying to hold back tears myself. Aang enters the avatar state and the breeze picks up throughout the clearing as my wings form on my back, for the first time without my control. As fire blazes into existence on the ends of my wings, I hear gasps and shrieks of surprise from those watching; this is the first time they've seen my wings. A deep breath from both of us and me and Aang hold out our arms, creating a ring of air between us that rushes around Iroh and is so strong it makes the others back into the trees a ways. I glance nervously at Aang and watch the ring spin around a very patient Iroh. 'It's not working,' I think, my eyes stinging once again with the effort of holding back tears. 'It's not gonna work, I can't do it.'

As if sensing my thoughts, Aang gives me a wide grin, silently telling me that he believes we can finish this together. I take a deep breath and smile back, and immediately the ring begins to turn gold. The color creeps around the ring until it casts an eerie golden glow over the moonlit clearing, and the ring begins to stretch. The golden sphere begins to form around Iroh, and he gives Zuko one last smile, a single tear sliding down his cheek, as the last opening closes. Quickly the sphere fades, leaving nothing behind except a pattern burned into the grass and a game piece, both of which bore the same symbol- the white lotus. Me and Aang finally drop weakly and return ourselves to normal. We don't need to look to see the anguish written across Zuko's face or hear the scream that followed the last blast of air to know that he's upset. "UNCLE!"

Tears drop from his face as Zuko collapses in the center of the clearing, his whole body shaking violently with unrelenting sobs, and clutches the lotus tile to his chest.

"Toph?" I call, stepping forwards.

She glances back; showing red eyes and a tear-stained face, but doesn't stand from the rock she's sitting on. "What do you want?"

"I just want to make sure you're okay. What are you doing up this early? Or should I say late?"

"Nothing," she grumbles.

I walk up and sit on the ground next to her rock, and she glances at me and asks, "Why are _you_ up so early?"

I shrug. "Nightmares… You know, it's sad that you can't see colors. The sun's just coming up, and the sky is orange. A warm kind of orange. It's pretty."

Toph remains silent, so I continue. "You were good friends with him, weren't you?"

"You could say that," Toph answers. "He's helped me a lot."

"He sounded like an amazing person."

"Yeah…"

"If you need to talk about it, I'm here, okay?"

"Can I show you something?" she asks suddenly.

I nod and we turn to face each other, and I watch curiously as she holds a small lump forwards in her hand, a small smile creeping across her face. "What is it?" I ask.

"Part of a meteor. Sokka gave it to me."

I smile down at the lump as Toph begins playing with its shape. "You've got a great family here," I say, earning another smile from her.

` "Yeah," she says back, and then she stands. "I'm gonna go get some sleep."

I stand with her. "Me too. 'Night Toph."

Toph waves a hand behind her as I follow her back to camp. "See ya."


	11. Nightmares and Daydreams

It's destroying everything… everything it can reach. My heart breaks every time it's massive, white fist plunges into a building, sending people running in every direction. And all I can do is watch. Watch, helpless, as this giant thing I'm floating inside of terrorizes everyone it comes across.

With a horrifying realization, I realize… this thing is me. I'm the one who's destroying everything, I'm the one people are running from in fear, scared for their very lives. Well, me and someone else. Beside me, someone is floating in a pitch-black sphere, controlling the other half, and I hear them cry out desperately as I cringe back from the blue arm that smashes through multiple buildings in one strike. They sound apologetic… like they can't control what they make their side of the giant do, either. The white arm pulls back and prepares to strike, against my will, and I cry out, pleading the form to have mercy on the people living here. I can't stop it, but before both arms crash into the fire-nation royal palace, I hear a voice, travelling on the wind. It speaks to me like a phantom, ghostly and terrifying, but it has a kindness and encouragement hidden behind the eeriness of the statement. "You are just as powerful as Aang."

I jolt up in a cold sweat, my face sticky with tears, and my throat sore from screaming. With a few deep breaths, I take in my surroundings. I'm still in the tent that used to belong to Zuko, where I went to sleep last night. I'm still just me, not floating in a giant blue-and-white form, not terrorizing people or destroying things. 'That wasn't me,' I think to myself. 'It was just something in a dream.'

I take a deep breath and look around my tent, wondering how early it is. Before I can get too deep in thought, however, I hear crying from one of the other tents. No, it's sobbing. It must be Zuko… I get up and leave my tent, and as I assume, the sobbing was emanating from the tent that once belonged to Iroh. With a sigh, I glance around the clearing. The sun shines brightly and the early morning fog has long since disappeared. The sun's light shows only one tent - though I assume some of the others are awake and in their closed tents - open, the one that we bought for Kuzon. A quick glance around the clearing tells me that Kuzon has probably gone into the woods, since he's not in the clearing, so that's where I go. "Kuzon?"

I call his name one last time, take one last look around, and pause - I see someone sitting on the ground, their back against a tree, tears streaming from their eyes, only a few trees away. "Kuzon," I sigh. "I've been looking for you, and - are you okay?"

He nods and wipes his face with a small smile, which quickly disappears to be replaced with guilt as he says, "It's kinda personal."

"Don't worry, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. After all, you did tell everyone else about your arm."

"Thanks," he beams, his smile returning.

"You know, I think you're pretty brave."

"I-Uh-What?" he stutters, a light blush creeping over his face.

I nod. "You refused the fire nation when you got the scar, you've been really strong since… your dad, you know… stayed back, and you told everyone the story about your scar and you showed them all your arm, and you weren't scared or anything when I bent earth the other day, and you hardly flinched when my wings came back today, and you were okay with my and Aang's decision even though you didn't want to upset Zuko, and do you remember when that angry pigster came right at you the other night?-" I couldn't help but laugh then- "You scared him off, even though I could tell that you were scared, and the list goes on!"

The blush on his cheeks turns a much deeper shade as he says, "I wasn't that scared."

We both laugh. "But really, Kuzon, I mean it."

He blushes again and smiles at me, trying and failing to speak. "I didn't…" I begin before he can get anything out. "I didn't scare anyone… did I?"

"What?" he queries, tilting his head to one side like a crow. "Scare anyone? How?"

"With my, uh… wings."

"Oh. Well, it was a bit… I mean… surprising."

I study the ground and try not to think of my nightmare. "I scared you, didn't I?"

Kuzon glances away awkwardly and stutters hesitantly, "I-Ye-You-I mean, well… a bit."

I look down shamefully and mutter, tears stinging my eyes, "I'm so sorry."

After a short, awkward silence, Kuzon suddenly flicks his head up, seemingly realizing something. "T-That's not why I'm out here, though! It's something else."

A sense of relief spreads through me, though I still have a question on my mind. What's bothering him? Is he crying because he's upset about his dad? Then why didn't he want to tell me? "Oh. Good. Well, can I help with why you are out here?"

"I don't think so," he mutters. "Like I said, it's personal."

Once again, neither of us talks for a moment. "So… you can control them, right?" Kuzon asks suddenly.

"Huh? The wings? Yeah."

He looks down and hesitates for nearly a whole minute, nervously playing with his burnt fingers, until finally he glances up for only a second and asks quietly, "What's it like?"

"What's what like? You mean the wings?" He nods silently and I continue. "Well… It's not quite like how you would feel your arm, and it's not quite like how you feel the element you're bending, but I can feel them. It's kinda in between, actually."

"Weird…"

"Really weird," I agree. "I… I'm really sorry."

"For what?"

"For scaring you. I hadn't though that the size might be… intimidating."

"No, it's okay!" Kuzon exclaims. "They're actually… they're…"

"Hm?"

Kuzon blushes once again and rubs the back of his neck. "They're… I think your wings are pretty."

"R-Really?" I stutter, trying not to blush, and failing. "You really think so?"

He nods. "Thanks, Kuzon," I smile. "But we should get back to camp. The others are probably awake now."

"Yeah," he agrees, and shaking ourselves from the sudden trance, we both stand and walk back together, where we find everyone awake and out of their tents except for Zuko.

"There you guys are," Katara comments. "I was just about to go find you. We're going to leave soon - we don't know if the men are still after us - but you should eat something first. Aang? What should we do about Zuko?"

Aang hesitates. I can tell that no one wants to be the one to bother him. "I'll get him," I say, and I walk to his tent without a word.

"Zuko?" I call. No one calls back, so I continue. "There's breakfast."

"No," is the simple answer I get.

With a sigh, I hang my head and say, "We're leaving soon anyway. Please?"

A silent moment, then the tent flap flies open and Zuko trudges out. He has bags under his red and swollen eyes and his hands shake occasionally, and with a grimace he moves to where the bison are waiting together and sits to wait with them.

As we eat, I say to the others, "He doesn't look good."

When we start flying, my thoughts drag only to Kuzon, who joined me and Zuko on Tiki, and our conversation earlier. Now that I think over it, the conversation seems unreal. How the light had streaked across his face, how we'd both seemed so nervous around each other, how we had been alone together in the woods, how beautiful Kuzon had been… it feels now like it had been just a daydream. The most amazing daydream… But I know for sure that it's real when Kuzon catches my eye and mouths, "Thank you."

I'm so relieved, I can't help but send back a huge signature grin and mouth, "You too."


	12. Captives

"Do you really think you can fly with them?" Kuzon asks.

I shrug. "It's worth a shot."

I don't have to ask for Aang and Kuzon to step back as I sit down in a meditative pose. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, then another, and another. After nearly two minutes, I hear Kuzon mutter, "Elian, I don't think it's gonna - whoa…"

"What?" I ask, suddenly afraid of seeing something terrible if I opened my eyes now.

"It… worked."

I shoot my eyes open just in time to see the last of the formation out of the corner of my eyes. I take a deep breath, once again feeling that rush of power surging through me. I don't like it. I try to push the feeling to the back of my mind as I stand and begin inspecting my wings, able to take time to look at them for the first time. I understand now why Kuzon was scared. The huge patterned wings, the floating elements seeming almost alive, blending into each other, are almost intimidating me, and they're on my own back! I experimentally reach a hand under the other arm and towards the water of the wings. It feels strange, alive yet not. Almost as if they are made merely out of the energy that keeps me alive. I jerk my hand away and look back to Aang and Kuzon with a sloppy smile. "Are you ready?" Aang asks.

I nod and, with a deep breath, bend my knees and hold my wings high. "Uh, you might wanna step back."

Aang and Kuzon do just that, and as soon as I know they're far enough away I shoot my wings down and jump. Of course, I expect myself to fall straight back down. But… I don't. "I-It's working!" I shout, hovering unevenly.

Aang and Kuzon smile encouragingly as I slowly and sloppily rise, closing my eyes for better concentration. I crack my eyes open for only a split second and they shoot open immediately. Whoa! I got high really fast! My surprise must have broken my concentration. I drop a few feet and gasp, frantically speeding my wings up. I drop a few more. Quickly I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Panicking won't fix things. I slowly open them again and smile. I've risen again! Joy fills me, but fades quickly with a sudden realization. I don't know how to get down! I glance down nervously and shout to Aang and Kuzon.

They gesture speed with their hands. What? Speed? What do they mean, speed? I give them a confused look and shrug my shoulders. Aang gestures to my wings and I glance back at them. Wings? Speed? What is he saying? An idea hits me and I experimentally flap my wings once, quickly. I shake and drop an inch. Oh! I beat my wings quickly and lower until, about six feet from the ground, I drop, landing on my knees. The dull pain hugging my shins is nothing compared to the tornado of thoughts suddenly swirling through my head. I slowly pick myself up and grin at Aang and Kuzon as they rush over. "That was… it was... wow!" Kuzon exclaimed, struggling to find words.

I beam back at him. "I can't believe this is happening!"

"Me neither…" Aang mutters beside me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just can't wrap my head around it."

"Me neither," I mutter. When no one can seem to decide on what to say, I speak up again. "Do you guys wanna go check on Zuko…?"

Aang gives a weak smile. "Sure."

"Uh, you're keeping your wings… there?" Kuzon askes awkwardly as we turn towards camp.

"Yeah, why can't I?"

Kuzon looks away. "N-Nothing, I was just asking…"

We walk towards the camp, looking over the calm action below, and lose all sense of danger in the peaceful joy. That's a mistake I later tell myself to never make again, because as we reach the top of the hill overlooking our small camp, a hand clasps over my mouth from behind. I struggle against my attacker, and Aang and Kuzon move to help me as well. But the masked-men are too fast. Brute force holds Aang and Kuzon back, and the man grabs around me as well, bringing a blindfold over my head. Time seems to blur then. I don't know how far they took us. But before they get too far, I get an idea. Pressing my heel into the ground, I grin behind the hand of my attacker. 'A trail… I'm gonna get us out of here, Aang.'

It's been hours, and I've been stuck on a boat of some sort for at least one of those. I need to get away from here, but my captor hasn't released me once. He has a firm grip around my middle, pinning my arms with his head close above mine. My wings are hard to move. He has them pinned too. Wherever I am, the men brought Aang and Kuzon with them. I can hear Kuzon trying to reason with them now. "W-We can work this out, right? Nicely? What do you really need us for, anyway? W-We're just a bunch of kids…"

The men never respond. Suddenly the boat lurches under me, and I hear Kuzon gasp. "W-What's going o-on? Hey!"

The man pulls me up and I stumble with the rocking of the boat. He grumbles and pushes me forwards. 'Wait,' I think, 'this is my chance!'

I yank my arms out of his grip, surprising him at my sudden move and making him grunt an angry scream. His surprise doesn't last long. He quickly grabs me again, but I swing my wings back and hit him, giving myself just enough time to pull my blindfold off. Perfect, they've brought the boats on shore. I don't have time to see anything else, because the second my blindfold is off, I blast myself as far off the boat as I can and shoot it back into the water; and I run. 'Don't worry Aang, Kuzon, I'm coming for you.'

"H-Hey! W-What was that?!" Kuzon shouts.

The man that had held me screams from the boat as he drifts off, and the other two holding Aang and Kuzon are yelling at him about letting me get away. I grin and turn around, running straight for Kuzon's boat. Doing a flip in the air, I land right on top the masked-man's head, and Kuzon screams as the man drags him down with him. The man is out cold. "Kuzon, it's me," I grin, grabbing his hands and pulling him up.

He grins back at me and pulls his blindfold off. "Elian! W-What did you do to him?" he mutters, glancing at the unconscious man behind him.

"It doesn't matter," I mutter back, grabbing his hand. "Hold on."

I blast off the boat again, this time pulling Kuzon along with me, and after making sure he's standing upright I mutter, "Stay here and keep an eye on the other guy while I get Aang, okay?" and turn to the last boat.

As I run closer, I can practically see the man shaking, and Aang calls out my name. I send the man a determined glare and jump. He shakes with fear as I near him and I suddenly feel confident as I land with a grin behind him. He shakily releases Aang, but I won't play nice after they took my friends captive and I land a strong kick on his side, sending him flying into the water. "Are you okay?" I ask as he removes the blindfold.

Aang smiles and glances around at what was recently my escape battle. "Yeah, I'm okay. Nice job getting us out."

"Thanks." Suddenly my wings fade from my back. "Whoa! I guess they know I don't need them right now…"

"It seems like they can understand when you're in danger."

"We'll worry about that later. We've gotta get back to camp."

Aang quickly agrees and we jump over to Kuzon. "G-Guys? They're back!"

Me and Aang turn around. Two masked-men were back on land, and catching up to us fast. "Run!" I shout, then I grab Aang and Kuzon's hands and bolt, as fast as my bending will take me.

I don't know how long we ran. It was a while. Maybe a half-hour. When we finally decide that we've lost them and that it's safe to stop, we're moving so fast we almost don't know how to. I skid to a stop and all three of us tumble along the ground, into a tree line. We collapse wordlessly on the forest floor and pant, struggling to catch our breaths. My mind races at a hundred miles an hour. How far from camp were we now? How would we find our way back? And what would we find there? Would the others all be okay? Were the men just after us because they wanted Aang, and they left the others alone? I have to tell myself that to keep calm, but I have a really bad feeling about this. I sigh and silently grasp Aang and Kuzon's hands in my own again as they stay lying beside me. It's just us three now…


	13. Mental Strain

It's been about a half-hour since we arrived in that forest. We've been talking. Planning. But we haven't come up with anything except for a bunch of scrapped ideas. How are we supposed to protect the others from the masked-men if we have no idea how to even get to them? Zuko is in no condition to fight and no one but him will even be awake this early. What if the masked-men take them by surprise? What if they get captured too? Will they be able to escape like we did? I have a really bad feeling about this...

Sighing, I lean my head back and moan, "So what do we do?"

"Maybe we can just... pick a direction and go?" Kuzon suggests.

"No," I shout, "that won't work! They had us for hours, we could be anywhere!"

"This is hopeless..." Aang moans.

I sigh. The depressing atmosphere weighs down on me like a hundred pounds of stone, and I wish that I could change it... We need to get our spirits up if we're ever going to find the others. The silence presses in around me and I search desperately for something cheerful to say. Finally an idea comes to me, like a light at the end of the tunnel. And I leap to my feet, shooting an air blast at Kuzon. I catch him off guard and he flies against a tree, screaming. He stares at me confusedly for a few seconds, and a grin spreads across his face. "Alright, you're on!"

"Come on, Aang!" I shout, blasting at him. Aang jumps over the blast and shoots right back at me. I manage to move just in time, and suddenly I feel a slight warmth on my face and I duck. A small, cool flame disappears above me.

'Wow,' I think, 'Kuzon was so gentle with that flame! Even if I hadn't ducked, I wouldn't have been hurt at all...'

We go on playing like that for a while, but eventually we get tired and sit down to a cheerful chat. My plan seems to be working. No one's acting worried anymore. Happily, we continue our chat. We've gotten on the subject of unique bending moves. "Gyotso showed me one once he called the Air Ball. He said his favorite student made it up."

"Gyotso showed you?" Aang exclaims excitedly. "That's my move!"

"That's yours? I always wanted to know who made the move that influenced my Air Skates."

"What's the Air Skates?"

"Just watch," I grin. I flick small versions of the Air Ball around my hands and feet and hop into the air. Holding my new creations steady, I hover. After a quick demonstration, I say, "I can do whatever I want now as long I keep the Air Balls formed. But usually I skate with them. That's why I call them the Air Skates." I drop the spheres to the ground and blast forwards, guiding myself with the spheres surrounding my hands. After a few laps around the nearby trees I stop in front of Aang. "You try it," I smile.

He seems to glow with joy as he nods, trying to form the spheres a little too big around his hands. "How did you do that again?"

"Just try making one at a time." I straighten his arms. "And make them a little smaller."

I watch him follow my instructions and form each Air Ball separately, then stand on them like skates. "Now how do you do the skating part?" he grins eagerly.

"It's simple. You just control the current to push you forwards and use the Air Balls around your hands to change direction." He does as I say and I rush after him. We skate through the trees for a little bit, laughing, but Kuzon's voice makes us both stop.

"Guys?"

"What is it?"

"Uh, I just think that... Shouldn't we be looking for the others?"

And that's when my idea's shut down. Oh well. It had to happen sometime. "Yeah... We really should..."

"But..." Aang begins. His voice fades off.

"But what? You want to find them, don't you?"

"Of course! But... what if we get there and... it's too late?"

"It won't be," I tell him. "They're strong. They're gonna be okay." I'm not sure how true that is, though. I have a really bad feeling about this... "We don't even know what those masked-men are capable of anyway."

"That's just it!" Aang exclaims, thrusting his arms into the air. "We _don't_ know what they're capable of! We have no idea what they could have done by now!"

Blinking away my surprise at his outburst, I slowly rest and hand on his shoulder and feel it drop. "Look, Aang, you're right. They could have done anything by now. But we can't assume that. Our friends are strong. We need to be too."

Aang takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay... so where do we start?"

I really hope everything's okay at camp. Otherwise I've just calmed Aang down for nothing. "Do either of you remember which way it is to the lake?"

Kuzon pointed. "I know we came from that way."

"Perfect. Let's go."

It's been a little over half an hour. Walking is a lot more exhausting than it sounds like it is. I hope we get there soon... Kuzon must be twice as exhausted – he's panting now and sweat sits in beads on his forehead – but Aang looks anything but tired. He's been silent since we left the forest, and he hasn't so much as looked at either of us since his outburst earlier. I'm really worried about him. "How much further can it be?" Kuzon moaned.

Silence. My mind drifts once again to the others back at camp. How long has it been now that they've been there alone? I'm worried for them, but I'm more worried for Aang if something's happened. Would he ever be okay again? Would he be able to forgive me if they were badly hurt after I've told him that they would be fine? Please forgive me... Please be okay... "Hey, look!" I see something in the distance. Something blue, and huge. "The lake!"

We run the rest of the way, relieved, towards the lake. Towards camp. Once we cross that lake, we shouldn't have much longer until we get back. 'They're gonna be okay,' I tell myself. 'We're so close!'

Wordlessly, Aang shoots his arms forwards and a long bridge of ice forms over the water. We continue silently. I look forwards. I can't see the other side... Can Aang do it the whole way? "Aang? Is there anything I can do to help?" He shakes his head silently and forms more of the bridge. "Okay..." I'll leave him alone for now. He'll be fine when we get back, I'm sure, he's just worried...

It's been nearly an hour now. How is Aang still going? I remember from the treasure hunt in Omashu that Aang doesn't get tired as easily as I do, but bending takes energy. I can hardly see the other side. There's still a long ways to go. Is he gonna be okay? I watch new ice form in front of us and old melt behind with increasing nervousness. Just a little longer, Aang. Suddenly an arm in front of my stomach stops me. I only have one foot on the ice! Stepping back, I see Kuzon smiling sheepishly at me. He quickly shakes the smile away and turns his gaze to Aang. "Aang?" I call. "Aang, are you okay?"

Perfectly still, Aang stares blankly forwards, arms at his sides. Then, without warning, he sinks to his knees on the ice and begins falling forwards. I gasp and yank him back before he can hit the water. "Aang!" me and Kuzon exclaim.

I kneel behind him and lean him against me. "Aang! Aang, wake up! Aang!" Glancing sadly at Kuzon, I mutter, "I think he passed out from exhaustion."

Kuzon glanced worriedly at Aang, then up at the water surrounding them. A loud crack made me look up too. The ice is melting. "No..." I say hardly above a whisper. "The ice..."

Before we can even consider a solution, the ice cracks off another disappearing piece of itself and knocks Aang's legs up to his knees into the water. I grab under his arms and scramble to my feet with him. "Wh-what do we do?" Kuzon asks shakily.

"I don't know," I breathed back. I can't hold Aang up very long. I yank him up further and break the hold the water had on his feet.

Me and Kuzon suddenly find ourselves back-to-back as the ice shrinks continuously. "Elian," he says. I can hear in his voice that he's on the verge of tears if he's not already crying. "What do we do?!" he moans desperately.

"You can swim, right?"

"I..." He sobbed. "I never learned! Elian, what do I do?!"

I take a deep breath and scoot my feet against the backs of his as the ice shrinks still. Thinking very fast, I say, "Take Aang." I slide Aang carefully into the water and push him behind me by one arm; Kuzon quickly takes Aang's hand from me and pulls him back out with a splash. Feeling Kuzon brace himself for the added weight against me, I whisper, "Don't look. Close your eyes, Kuzon. Concentrate on Aang, okay? Concentrate on Aang." With that, the last of the ice gives way and we plunge into the cold water. I push forwards, turn, and see Kuzon squeezing Aang against him while he thrashes wildly, struggling to kick himself to the surface. I quickly swim back over and grip his shoulders tightly. He's still very tense, but he stops struggling. Mentally sighing with relief, I grip his arm tightly and begin swimming him and Aang to shore. The added weight makes it slow and difficult, but I push on as fast as I can.

I must have closed my eyes at some point. "Elian?!" Kuzon screeches. I crack my eyes and they shoot open. We definitely aren't underwater anymore. Not at all. A surface-resting whirlpool, a strange bending-made sort of mix between a whirlpool and a waterspout, surrounds my waist and holds me high above the lake. "Elian!"

"KUZON!" I turn and ride the whirlpool-tornado in a spiral straight down. Stretching my hand out as far as my arm will let me, I stare desperately at Aang and Kuzon's falling figures. Kuzon must have lost his grip on Aang, since they're falling separately. "KUZON!" I catch him just in the nick of time by one hand, and with my remaining one I snatch Aang from halfway in the water. Unable to control the strange whirlpool-like thing, all three of us are forced back into the air and thrust headlong towards the sandy lakeside. We tumble into it with a hard SPRUTH and, shaking, I manage to stand. A strange knot forms in my stomach at seeing Aang's body sprawled unceremoniously on the ground. I quickly turn my attention to Kuzon. And... my heart drops. He's staring at me over his knees, a look of utter terror in his bright green eyes, and his skin so pale every freckle stands out. "Kuzon!" I hurry over to him and he scoots quickly away from me. "Kuzon? What are doing, it's me! Come on, get up!" He shakes his head and mumbles something incoherent, his eyes flicking madly back and forth. What is...? Suddenly I notice a strange shadow and look back; those wings are back, splayed in either direction as far as they can stretch, making me look much bigger and much more powerful than I actually am. Kuzon sitting there in the sand, shaking with fear, fear of _me,_ is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. Tears spring to my eyes and I slowly shake my head, stumbling back. I probably look like a monster... "Kuzon..." I stumble back again, shake my head, and turn around. I can't watch him like that... What have I done? "I'm so sorry."

A moment later someone taps my shoulder and I look up. His pale face breaks into a guilty grin. "Don't. Please. Don't apologize. I was just worked up because of the water. I'm _so_ sorry."

I shake my head. "I need to learn to control myself."

For a moment he's so quiet I think he's not going to say anything, but... "What was that?" he asks finally.

"I... I don't know. I don't know. I don't know, Kuzon!" I hurriedly wipe a tear off my face and take a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You can't help what you don't know. I'm the one who needs to be sorry."

"For what?"

"For shrinking away like that! I acted like you were a monster! Please, I swear I don't think that! I don't! I just... I'm not..." He seems to be looking for the right way to say something.

"You weren't scared of me, you were scared of what I did?" I ask hopefully.

He nods quickly. "Yeah! And the water..."

He could be pale because he's still upset about the water, but I'm sure it's because of the little flight I accidentally sent him on... Why does this keep happening? I scared him before too, didn't I? Why can't I stop scaring him?! I take a deep breath. "I guess we'll take turns watching Aang until he wakes up? While the other keeps a look out for the masked men?"

Kuzon nods solemnly. "Yeah..."

"Elian! Elian!" I turn around. "Elian, hurry! He's waking up!"

"What?!" I immediately abandon my post and crouch next to Aang. "Aang! Aang, are you okay?! Aang!"

His face does a funny twitch and he moans. Sitting up, he looks from me to Kuzon and back, then glances around at the sand and shoreline. "What happened? Are we on the other side?" We nod. "How?"

Me and Kuzon glance at each other slowly. "I had another bending incident."

Aang is silent for a moment. Then, quietly, he asks, "I passed out, didn't I?" We nod again. Even quieter, he asks, "How long has it been?"

"A few hours..."

He stands up immediately. "A few _hours_?!" Another nod from me and Kuzon as we stand to join him. I catch his wrist as he tries to start walking. "We have to go!" he shouts. "Whatever they wanted to do, they've had plenty of time thanks to me!"

"You can't keep going like this! Please! I'm worried about you!"

He stares silently. "I can't do nothing any longer. I'm going to help them. And..." He hesitates for a moment, his eyes flicking downwards. Only a moment, and he looks firmly to me then Kuzon and says sharply, "I'll fight you if I have to."

"I – Wha? – Aang..."

"Wh-what?" stutters Kuzon. Silently, Aang turns and begins walking. Me and Kuzon glance nervously at each other and hurry after him. "S-so..." Kuzon stutters awkwardly. "How do we get back?"

I remember it so suddenly I feel like smacking a hand to my forehead. "I left a trail with my foot!"

An excited look flashes on Kuzon's face, but fades just as quickly with another glance at Aang. "Let's go..."

Aang, once again, hasn't said a word. It's not a silence like last time, though. Last time felt worried, tired, and rushed. This time just feels very, very tense. Like Aang could explode at any second... It's gotten worse as time goes by. Now that the sun is set and the moon has replaced it, he acts like an angry animal – I know he's furious but I have no idea when he'll strike. "Elian!" Kuzon exclaims.

We pause at the top of the hill. "Oh no..." Camp looks awful. It's been ravaged. The tents are in pieces. Stuff is strewn everywhere. I glance nervously at Aang. To my surprise, he simply walks forwards. I follow cautiously, Kuzon close behind. Unfortunately, it looks twice as bad up close. I clasp a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping. Torn pieces of all colors and materials are everywhere. The only thing not broken and destroyed is Aang's glider. On top of that is the blood. Small stains, everywhere. A few towers of earth stand forgotten and Sokka's boomerang lies under Zuko's swords in the center of everything. Even the bison and lemurs were gone. Aang turns slowly, a murderous look shooting over his face. "Aang..." I whisper nervously.

A blur of motion accompanies a grief-filled scream. "Elian, jump!" Kuzon exclaims.

I leap as high as I can and see Aang leaping up after me. I don't have time to get out of the way. His blast sends me flying and I crash into the ground. "Elian!" Kuzon cries. "Leave her alone!"

"Stay back!" I shout to him, just in time to sidestep away from a large chunk of rock. "Aang, please!" He runs straight for me and I jump at the last second – not quick enough. Something wraps around my ankle and slams me to the ground. I roll out of the way of a fire blast and jump to my feet. "Aang, please!" I shout again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't know!" I narrowly miss another hit.

"This is all your fault!" he shouted. "You could have left me!" He sends another blast my way, but I don't move. The force flings me on my back a few feet away. "You waited! _Hours_! You could have saved them!" he sobbed, firing another shot at me. It hits me square in the stomach and knocks the wind out of me. Suddenly he falls back, and tears into a fight.

"Kuzon!" I scream. "Aang, let him go! They can't be gone! They can't be, Aang! Please!" Kuzon fires out of the tangle and slams into a nearby tree. I rush over to him and grip his shoulders. His eyes stare blankly, terrified. "Kuzon! Kuzon!"

He shakes his head, stares straight at me, shaking all over with tears in his eyes, and mouths, "Help me."

I stand and turn. "You're lying!" Aang shrieks. "You told me the whole time that they would be fine! But they're not fine!" He snatches a scrap of fabric from the ground and holds it up to my face. "Look! BLOOD, ELIAN! They're not fine!" He clutches the fabric tight and collapses to hands and knees. "They're not fine," he sobs, shaking from head to foot. Kuzon steps around me and I have a strong urge to pull him back.

"Aang?" he whispers, reaching a hand out. Aang stops it halfway and looks up with a tear-streaked face.

"You should have left me!" Aang fires both his arms back, ready to strike.

"KUZON!" I see a flash of orange-red. Aang screams loudly – this time in pain. I look to Kuzon, and he's staring back at me in horror.

"E-Elian?" he whispers fearfully. Aang moans, fresh tears streaming down his face. He slowly looks at me, also fearfully. Fearfully? "What did you do?" Kuzon breathes.

"Wh-what? I... I didn't do anything! I... Is he okay?" Aang's still crying. His outfit is burned all the way up both arms... His arms! They're covered in bright red – burns? "Did... Did I...?"

Aang shook and let out a loud cry, rolling to his side. And at the same time as me, he cries, "I'm so sorry!"


	14. Wounded Yet Free

Nupira straightens up in her chair at the knock, and he sisters, standing beside her, do the same. "Who dares speak to me?!" she snaps. "If you have no news, leave." She had been bothered numerous times the day before, simply for some soldier to tell her that there was, again, no news.

"I-It's General Shong Lee, Princess. I-I have news on the airbender's whereabouts..."

She releases a sigh of relief. Finally. "Enter."

The doors open and Shong Lee enters, bowing. "Speak," says Nupira.

"Yes, Princess. The airbenders and the firebender have returned to their camp, Princess."

"And the airbender?"

"Has bent the final element, Princess. B-But it does not appear that she is aware of how to control each in battle, Princess."

"Very well. Leave."

"Yes, Princess."

"She's learning fast!" exclaims Shalia once the doors have closed. "I wonder if the avatar is teaching her..."

Nupira scoffs. "She's bent each element. That doesn't mean that she knows how."

"Whoa, you're right! I guess she doesn't know how to fight with them..."

"It means," says Akunia, "that now that she knows she can bend all of the other elements, the avatar will begin teaching her soon. And that..."

"Will not stand," Nupira finished.

Meanwhile, General Shong Lee has marched down the hall, snapping at multiple group A soldiers who were lazing around. He can't believe they would be slacking off at a time like this! Taking a deep breath, the general calms himself and snaps sharply into the speaker, "All soldiers ready yourselves! They could attack at any moment!"

"Please!" Kuzon exclaims. "We won't find them like this!"

I bury my face further into my knees and shake my head. I can't face them. I can't face Aang. The image of his burns, of his scarred, scorched clothing burns into my mind like hot coals and sends a flood of tears down my face, soaking into my pant legs. "I'm sorry," I hear Aang whisper.

I try to respond, but my voice catches in my throat and I shake my head again. "Elian..." Kuzon mutters, placing his good hand on my shoulder.

Finally I glance up and see Kuzon looking down at me with the most pathetic smile he's ever used. Glancing at his slightly scorched sleeves, I burst into tears all over again, but he lifts my head by my chin before I can hide my face again. "I'm alright. See? I've had worse. Come on, you can't do this forever..."

I reluctantly let him pull me up by the arm, and watch as he moves over to Aang and begins speaking quietly. "You got upset, Aang, it happens. No one blames you."

"He's right," I say, stepping over to Aang as well. "Everyone gets upset, and this... This is okay to get upset about."

"There's more than one way to get upset," Aang mumbles through his knees.

"You're right. But none is worse than the other. I've overreacted too. Remember in Omashu? And plenty of times before that – before I was frozen. More times than I can count."

"See?" Kuzon says, smiling. "Like Elian said, this is something that's okay to get upset about."

Finally Aang stands and turns to face me, and for a moment we can't do anything but stare at each other. "I'm really sorry," we say, then grins replace our frowns. We spoke at the same time again.

Beside me, Kuzon sighs and mutters, "So..."

"We have to go after them," Aang says firmly.

"Definitely. But there's one problem – what do we do when we get there? I don't know about you guys, but I have no idea how to fight. Not them at least, those guys are ruthless. We've all seen that."

"I do," Aang says.

"So you'll teach us?" I say. Kuzon nods beside me.

Aang seems to be fighting something in his mind, and takes a while to respond. Finally, he answers, "I'll do it."

"So," I begin as we head away from camp, "do you think that maybe you could... I don't know, try and teach me the other elements?"

Aang stops abruptly, and Kuzon copies him, suddenly looking down. "What?"

"I mean, I know I'm an airbender, but that couldn't have happened on it's own. With the earth, then the water and fire today? That had to have been me. There's just no other explanation. And what about the wings? They're made of all four elements. That has to mean something, right? I mean, why would I, just a simple airbender, be able to form wings made of earth, water, and fire? I didn't want to admit it, but... I think I can bend the other elements."

Aang looks incredulous and disbelieving, and Kuzon just looks nervous. "Only I can do that... No one else should be able to. There has to be another explanation."

"But what about the statue?" I continue. "That statue in the palace. Every other statue was of an avatar – someone who can bend all four elements. But the one in the middle had you _and_ me. I'm not saying I'm a second avatar, but..."

"Then what?" Kuzon says. "I've seen firsthand that the other elements act weird around you, but are you really sure you're bending them?"

"Why else would they have done that, Kuzon? That earth didn't move until I did, and water doesn't do that on it's own. And how it obeyed me when I wanted to move? It's just like bending."

"It did look a lot like bending with that fire... and what the earth did didn't look natural. There can't be a second avatar, there can't." There's a long silence, and finally Aang mutters, "Let's just practice fighting for now. Maybe... maybe we'll try later."

"Okay..."

"But –"

"It's going to hurt them, I know. But it's you or them. We just have to get the rest of the team out, and it'll be over."

"You fought those guys when they tried to take you to train for the army, didn't you? It's just like then. They want you on their side, you have to fight them!"

"They don't want me on their side, they want to kill me!"

"Just pretend I'm one of those men who attacked your village. Pretend I'm telling you to join them, and fight against your family. Your mom, Kuzon, your dad... Remember what they did... "

Tears well up in his eyes and he screams and tears for me. 'I knew that would get him,' I think. 'Oh no...' I shoot myself back just in time. "Remember what they did to your family!" I exclaim, firing an air blast at him. "Remember what they did to you village!" Fwoosh! Another near miss. "These could be the exact same people who killed your dad!" WHAM! He lands a kick on my stomach that sends me flying. "Think about that!" He fires a blast above me so I can't sit up, walks up to me, and aims straight at my face, breathing heavily. "Keep that up," I smile, "and they'll have no chance against you."

Finally, his face breaks into a smile and he gives me a hand up. "That was perfect, Kuzon!" Aang exclaims. "If you do anywhere near that good, Elian, we'll be fine."

I nod and turn to him. "I'm ready."

"Not quite," he responds. "You said you think you can bend the other elements, right? Toph did this with me when she was teaching me earthbending." He slips off my belt and quickly ties it over my eyes. "Remember how Toph sees – she senses vibrations in the earth. If you're an earthbender too, you should be able to do the same thing. Try and hit me."

I take a deep breath. 'Sense the vibrations in the earth...' I think. 'I can do this.' I take another deep breath and reposition my stance, dig my feet into the dirt. 'Sense the vibrations...' Wait. Is that...? 'It's working!' That's a tree over there, I think... Something's moving! No, someone. But... I can't tell who it is... Maybe... 'Okay, Elian, think... How are they standing? How are they moving? The footsteps, the footsteps... they're fast... they're kinda shaky, they're... way too heavy to be Aang! That must be Kuzon! Okay, he's gotta be here... Wait, does this mean I can earthbend?! Stop, you have to concentrate. Aang... Aang... Where are you?' I shift my feet again, digging them as deep as I can into the tough soil. 'Where are you? Is this really what it's like for Toph? Does she... really see like this? Come on, Elian, concentrate! Sense the vibrations... Okay, Aang... I can do this... I can do this... Aha!' Suddenly it's as if a light is turned on and I feel something moving... Something the size and shape of a person... Someone light on their feet... Someone... I send a blast towards the airbender and feel him hit the ground. Pulling off the blindfold, I see Aang standing up about fifteen feet away.

"You did it, Elian!" he exclaims, running up to me. "You did it!"

"But that means..." Kuzon mutters, stepping up to me and Aang.

"That means I actually did earthbend then..."

A long moment of silence makes us solemn. "That's impossible," Aang says.

"That's what we would have said about the wings," I say, and he looks directly at me.

"Did you really find me through seismic sense...?" Aang asks. "Maybe I was too loud, and..."

"Well, I wasn't sure at first, and then I thought I felt Kuzon, and then... Suddenly I felt... really powerful... and I felt exactly where you were right away."

"That was when your wings formed!" Kuzon exclaims.

"What?!" I exclaim, looking behind me. "My wings are there?!"

"Not anymore," Kuzon says quickly.

"They disappeared the second you took off your blindfold," Aang explains.

"Do you think that was connected?" I ask. "That my wings showed up right up when I suddenly could sense you perfectly?"

"It has to be," Kuzon says. "That must mean that you're more powerful when your wings are formed!"

"That's just like the avatar state," Aang says. "Are you... really a second avatar?"

"I don't know," I say. "But..."

"That's the only explanation," Kuzon says quickly. "She couldn't have gotten it from you."

"No way!" Aang agrees.

"Whether I am a second avatar or not, I really think we should go. You were right about one thing, Aang – we've wasted too much time. We have to go after them, now. I'll manage."

Aang nods. "Are you ready, Kuzon?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

When we get back to the camp, we find the path the masked-men took almost immediately – it's hard to miss a path as wide as two sky bison – and begin following it after Kuzon grabs Sokka and Zuko's weapons.

"You know, Aang, I was thinking..."

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering why we never met each other. I mean, we both knew Bumi, and the other Kuzon, and had the same teacher, and we both lived in the Southern Air Temple for a while. We should have spoken at least... Or heard about each other from our friends, but... Nothing."

"You're right... Now that you mention it, we practically lived with each other! Even though you lived on your island, you lived at the Air Temple at least until you were eight, right? And we had the same friends... Why didn't anyone ever talk about you with me? We could have been friends long before now..."

"Hey, we're here!" Kuzon exclaims suddenly, sounding very relieved.

Well... we're somewhere. "This can't be it. Do you really think they could hide two sky bison in there?"

"This is where the path ends..." Kuzon says confusedly.

He's right, of course. The path definitely stops here. At this small, broken temple. It's tall, but definitely too small for some secret base. "Maybe there's a secret entrance or something," Aang suggests.

"Let's go see."

Seeing the sight inside surprises us. "It's an avatar temple."

"But look," I exclaim, running to the middle, "our statue isn't here."

"Hmm... I wonder if it's only in the palace. Or was..."

"Maybe it just showed up because you woke up," Kuzon says to me.

"Maybe," I say. "Let's just focus on saving the others for now."

"Yeah," says Aang, then he steps into the middle beside me and closes his eyes. "There," he says after a moment, opening his eyes and pointing to the back wall. We all step up to it and he presses his hands against it.

"What is it, Aang?"

"Stand back," he says, then he shoots his hands down and the entire back wall of the temple opens up, revealing an enormous tunnel.

"Whoa..." We enter it, walking down a steep ramp into a large room with a single torch in it and only one other thing, in the middle of the room – a circular stone platform with a small black hole in the center.

"Are there any more secret passages?" Kuzon asks, but before Aang can answer, a huge blast of fire shoots out from the center and Kuzon lets out a strangled cry and stumbles against the wall – and immediately is encased in a block of stone.

"Guys!" he cries. "Aang, Elian!"

"Kuzon!" I scream, but a cry is released from my own mouth as a strip of water wraps itself around my middle and yanks me back against the wall – and stone walls close around me. Almost immediately, I hear a scream from Aang. He must be stuck too now. Quickly, I hear a grinding shift, and another immediately after.

"Someone's controlling this from above!" Aang exclaims. Suddenly, there's a loud groan of stone and I see the back wall of my cage open up.

"Whoa! My box just opened up! There's a tunnel!"

"Same here," came two voices.

"Okay," I call nervously, "just follow the tunnel, okay? I'm sure they all lead to the same spot..."

"Okay."

So I turn to the pitch-black tunnel ahead of me and enter it. Nearly ten minutes later I pause and lean against the wall. "I think this tunnel goes on forever..." I moan. Suddenly I hear a muffled gasp behind me and I copy it and turn around. Pressing my hands to the wall, I call out, "Hello?"

"Elian?" The voice is nearly identical to my own.

"Aang!"

"Elian, it is you!"

In perfect sync, we exclaim, "It's so good to hear your voice!" and laugh. "Hold on," Aang says, "you might wanna step back."

I step to the other side of the hallway and, though I can see nothing, I hear a huge crash. "Aang?"

"I'm right here, follow my voice!"

Suddenly my outstretched hands hit something and I jump back. Aang laughs and grabs my hand. "It's me, Elian!"

"Aang! I was starting to get worried this tunnel would never end... Can you see anything?"

"No. But it can't be too much longer, can it?" He was right, of course. It was just a few short minutes and we saw a light coming from a turn up ahead. Glancing at each other excitedly, we rush around it and follow the tunnel around another quick turn – only to be faced with a huge room packed with masked-men.

"Oh no..." There are hundreds of them. Me and Aang glance at each other, and turn determinedly back to the fight ahead of us. "Go," I tell Aang, "I'll hold them back."

"There's too many of them. You can't fight them alone."

"Go find them," I respond firmly. "I may not be the best at fighting, but I can avoid them. I'll be fine. Go. Get her back."

Aang gives me one more, long look and leaps over the crowd, running on top of them and disappearing on the other side. 'Okay,' I think. "I can do this..." Suddenly it seems fifty of them are coming for me at once. Panicking, I surround myself with a bubble of air and shoot it outwards, knocking out a handful of men against the walls, floor, and even each other. My face breaks into a grin, and I pull out my glider, extend it, and smack another handful of them against the wall. 'This should be a piece of cake...' I shoot another group against the opposite wall, then clap my hands together, firing a few more into the hall. Just when I think I know what I'm doing, they start fighting back. WHAM! I'm narrowly missed by a large chunk of stone, then jump out of the way of a flame just in time, and get thrown against the wall by a water whip in midair. 'They have waterbenders here?!' Then I notice something – every one of them has a small pouch of some sort on their waist. Wait... that's -! They all have knives! As if reading my thoughts, nearly half of them pull them out and begin aiming. "Oh no..." SHINK! A knife slips right by my head and stabs into the wall behind me. Then another one flies by. Suddenly I find myself being pelted with attacks of every kind from every angle. Without a second thought, I jump, narrowly missing every blast, knife, and water whip fired at me. After a smooth flip, I land on two masked-men, knocking them out against the heads of the men around them. 'Four down.' I leap to person after person and, looking back, I find that they're hitting each other with their own attacks and grin. Unfortunately, "Ah!" They're catching on and start firing a little bit higher. 'Okay, time for a new tactic.' I race across the crowd and charge up the wall, sending a blast down as I run across the ceiling, then back down the other and blast every masked-man in the room against the opposite wall as I land. I pause, a grin once again on my face, but not for long. "Ah!" Man they're fast. A masked-man sends me flying, and by the time I sit up I'm completely surrounded. They're closing in really fast... 'Aang, where are you?!' I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the worst, when suddenly I feel a surge of power and open my eyes. They're all backing up... I look back and there, large and powerful, are my wings... I smile. Now it's on! Wham! Person after person is sent flying by my air blasts. "Aim, and..." I send one into a group, knocking them all over on top of each other. It looks like I can do this after all... Suddenly, FWOOSH! A huge blast of fire bursts forth from my hands, causing many of them to scream and stumble back. Something about their expressions is strange, though... It's almost as if they're afraid of being in danger simply by the fact that I bent fire. I wonder if they knew or not that I can bend the other elements... I wouldn't be surprised, of course. But the looks on their faces makes me wonder just what kind of a leader they have. Nevermind, I don't have time to think about that right now. Ah! Wham! I reopen my eyes to see the crowd all pushed back by my blast, and I close my glider and slip it back into my shirt. I won't need that anymore. Now let's try another element. Hmm... Let's try earth. Yeah... I watch the crowd close around me again, preparing a thousand strikes at once. This better work... Three... Two... One... Croof! A relieved laugh escapes me. I'm encased in a dome of rock from the bare floor. It worked! I just bent earth... On purpose... I shake my head again and use my dome as ammo against the masked-men. I notice suddenly that nearly half of them are unconscious... 'Good,' I think, 'the less the better.' WOOSH! Flinching, I see that seemingly every one of them left have taken advantage of my pause and thrown a blast, whip, or knife at me. Slowly easing my eyes open, I'm relieved to find that my small, panicked blast was enough to narrowly force every attack out of my way. I'm also relieved to find every masked-man thrown against the walls and Aang standing between the split with his glider held forwards.

"Elian! Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Did you find them all?"

Blasting the men back again, Aang replies, "They agreed to stay in the hall while I take care of these guys, but I couldn't find Zuko, Tiki, or Appa."

"Got it. Can you handle these guys alone?"

"Yeah, no problem."

I nod firmly and rush into the hall to an awful sight. No wonder they agreed to stay back. All three of them are collapsed on the floor, looking nothing short of exhausted. They have innumerous cuts and wounds, and their clothes are spotted with blood. Cosmo and Momo scramble onto my shoulders and immediately start chirping madly, and Katara's voice, weak and desperate, interrupts them. "Aang... He can't –"

"Don't worry," I say gently, crouching in front of her. I glance meaningfully at Sokka and Toph and continue. "He knows what he's doing. They stand no chance against him." Standing, I say, "I'm going to find Zuko, Appa, and Tiki. I'll be back." With that, I'm off.

"Zuko? Tiki? Appa?" I call again, turning another corner. I haven't met a single masked-man walking through these hallways. They must all be where Aang is... I'm suddenly very nervous about him, despite what I told Katara and the others in the hall. I was nearly struck a hundred times. I hope he hasn't been hurt. Katara'll never forgive me if anything's happened to him. I would never forgive myself. Suddenly a fury-ridden scream catches my ears. That has to be Zuko! Right? I slowly ease towards where the sound came from, straining my ears to hear more. I can hear muffled conversation. I'm getting close. It must be coming from around this corner... Slowly, I flatten myself against the wall and peak around the corner, shushing Cosmo's chirping. Another empty hallway. Cautiously, I step around the corner and walk up to the first door I see, and after pressing an ear to it, I can hear the conversation clearly. "Unfortunate about our Uncle, isn't it? I heard you two were very close."

"SHUT UP!"

"Aw, you don't really mean it, do you?"

Did she say 'our uncle'? It can't be... Aang said they locked her away...

"Leave him out of this!"

"I thought you loved that fatso. Now you don't even –"

"Don't ever insult my Uncle again, do you hear me?!"

"What are you gonna do about it, huh? Try your best... Ha! That's what I thought... Well, I'll see you later, K?" Then I hear the distinct sound of footsteps growing louder, closer...

As soon as she's around the corner, I fall off of the doorframe and land with a solid thud. I immediately go for the handle, and slip through the door as quietly as possible. "What do you want?!" Zuko shouts.

He's chained to a metal chair in the center of an otherwise empty room, tears staining his face and clothing. "It's just me, Zuko, it's me!"

His face slacks and his head and shoulders drop visibly. "Elian! I never thought I'd ever be this glad to see you."

"I'm getting you out," I say, laughing as Momo hops onto his shoulder and flicks his tail contentedly. "Aang already got the others, I just need to find Appa and Tiki. You alright?"

"I just want to get out of here." Nodding, I crouch behind his chair and examine the chains. "Got any ideas? Hold on... Oh, right, if... Ah. If only I had some water..." Surprisingly, Zuko says nothing, though he does turn his head to try and look at me. I wonder if he thinks he's hearing things. Nevermind, think... Wait, wait, I think Aang said something about this before... Something Katara did... Wait, that's it! I brush my fingers across my forehead and... This has to be enough. Quickly, I shape the shred of sweat I collected around one of the chain links and freeze it with a careful blow. Chink! It snaps with one hit and the chain collapses to the floor. I grin. "Come on, let's go."

"How did you do that?" Zuko asks, following me to the door.

After checking that the coast is clear, we enter the hallway and I mutter, "Waterbending. I'll explain later." I turn down the hall blindly. "Any idea where they might be?"

Zuko shakes his head. "Somewhere big."

Sighing, I continue silently.

We've turned about twenty corners, and are currently turning another one. I'm really worried about Aang now. It's been a long time. I hope he's okay... I'm beginning to think that Appa and Tiki might not be here. We've been searching for a while now and there's been no sign of them. Where are they...? What did they do to them?! Where is Tiki?! I take a deep breath. Beside me, I notice that Zuko looks on the verge of tears. What did they say to him in there? Could it really have been Azula? Is that who I saw? I'm not going to ask him. He looks hurt enough as it is... We turn the next corner to a short hall with large double-doors at the end. I glance at Zuko with a huge smile on my face. "This has to be it!" I race to the end and yank open one of the doors while Zuko tugs open the other one, then I race inside and exclaim, "They're here, Zuko, they're here! Appa! Tiki!" I rush up to each and give them both hugs, then stand back to examine the chains binding them by a cuff around one foot each. "Ugh... Chains again. Okay, think Elian..." Hmm... I can't use waterbending again... I doubt I have near the firepower to melt it... I wonder if I could smash it. Snap it maybe with enough force. Nodding to myself, I ready my stance to the best of my memory and perform one of the simple moves I remember from my adventures. A medium sized rock should the trick. WHAM! I glance back. Zuko says nothing, but his face is stained with disbelief. WHAM! I turn my attention solely on the chain, now twisted and bent. WHAM! One more hit should do it... SCRING! Now that Tiki's free, I turn my attention to Appa, but drop the rock in surprise as Tiki rears and slams down on the chain, making the whole room shake and freeing Appa, and making both lemurs screech. "I guess that works. Come on, we gotta get back to Aang." But Zuko seems frozen in place. "I'll explain later. We have to go now." Finally, he nods and runs with me back into the hallway, both bison close behind us.

"Aang! Aang, I found them!" Appa and Tiki charge past everyone and into the room where Aang is still fighting the masked-men, and I hear about fifty screams. "Come on!" I shout to the four behind me. "That'll keep 'em busy for a while! Run!" I help a few of them to their feet and we all run together through the room, Appa and Tiki well keeping the masked-men distracted. I make sure everyone is safely to the other side of the room, then stand guard over the others while Aang and Toph merge the two tunnels into one to make room for Appa and Tiki who, after everyone else has entered and started on their way, refuse to go into the tunnel.

"Come on!" Me and Aang moan. "It's not that long!" I add. "There's no other way to get out of here!" Just then a masked-man shoots from behind and lights Tiki's tail on fire. I blow it out immediately, but it still does the trick and sends them both into the tunnel, which Toph quickly blocks up behind them.

As soon as we get outside, both bison collapse onto the ground and Aang and I ask, "Is everyone okay?"

"We're all in one piece," Toph responds.

"Yeah," I say, sending Aang a meaningful look. "We are." Suddenly, seeing Zuko glancing at me, I remember something. "Aang, we should tell them."

He nods firmly and says to the others, "We discovered something about Elian while we were going back to camp."

"I had another bending incident. Two more actually," I continue. "And we found out that I have a lot more power when my wings are on. Enough to bend the other elements at will."

"No," Katara says, "that's impossible."

"That's what we thought, but..." I lift my hand in front of me, take a deep breath, and a flame erupts atop it. I quickly close my hand and extinguish it, but everyone's mouths are gaping at this point.

"There can't be a second avatar," Zuko says firmly, "right?"

"I mean, there's never been more than one before," Toph agrees.

"What else could it be...?" Aang says, and my eyes go downcast.

Before anyone can answer, Sokka says, "Hey, where's Kuzon?"


	15. The Jasmine Dragon

My hands are placed firmly on the sides of my head as I pace in front of the others. _'What's wrong with me?!'_ I think harshly to myself. _'He's gonna die in there! He's not gonna make it, he's gonna die, and it's all my fault! It's all my fault, I didn't even think about him! What is wrong with me, I didn't even think about him!'_ "This is all my fault... What have I done...?"

"No one could have known," Katara says. "It's not your fault."

"For once I agree with my sister," Sokka adds, "they fooled all of us."

"You don't get it," I exclaim, "I told him to follow that tunnel! I told him to go and now they have him! Who knows what they're doing to him in there!"

"They probably won't hurt him," Katara says. "They might use him as bait like they did with us and set up a better trap."

"But they did hurt you. Anyway, I don't remember you saying his sister is very thoughtful."

"Azula?!"

"I couldn't see, but she said 'our Uncle'. Unless you have any other siblings?" Zuko shakes his head silently, eyes downcast.

"It wasn't really her, was it?" Aang asks. "How did she escape so fast? Zuko?"

"It wasn't her..." he mutters quietly.

"Then who was it?" Toph grumbles.

Zuko shakes his head again. Toph looks about to say something, but me and Aang shake our heads and silence her. Sokka and Katara glance at us with a certain level of understanding. Zuko hasn't been the same since Iroh...

It's been a little over an hour since we escaped, and the sun's starting to come up. We've been collecting what wasn't destroyed at camp. Well, I have. Katara's been doing healing sessions with Toph, Sokka, and Aang. Zuko hasn't left his tent. I wish Kuzon was here... I can't imagine what they're doing to him right now... Every second that passes by hits me harder than that water whip. Stumbling to my knees from pure lack of strength, I feel myself begin to cry. How could I just leave him? What was I thinking? I sigh. How long is it gonna be until everyone's healed enough to go rescue him? Is he gonna make it that long? Are we...? I know they're going to come for us now that we're weak and vulnerable. How many are going to come? Will we make it through them? And if we don't, what will happen to Kuzon? What would they do to him? Even worse, what would he think if I never showed up? What does he think now?! Oh no, Kuzon! I'm coming, I promise! I'm sorry! "Elian!" I only hear it faintly, a desperate voice not unlike my own, before I realize that my vision has gone dark and... and... ugh... I don't feel right...

Whoa. Where am I? Oh no, that scream! That scream, it's -! "KUZON!" I sob, racing forwards as fast as I can go. But suddenly my feet stop below me, and I look down to see that I'm slowly being encased in ice. "KUZON! KUZON! KUZON, NO!" There before me, at the end of a long hallway, stands an open door, and through it... I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head away. I can't look. There was blood... a lot of it. I feel like I'm gonna throw up... No... "KUZON!"

"E-E-li-an..." I shoot my eyes open and gasp at the sight – Kuzon, suspended by ropes, hangs ten inches from my face.

"Kuzon..." I sob. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry, Kuzon, I tried to come back, I tried! I tried, Kuzon!"

Suddenly the ropes disappear and he tumbles to the ground. I kneel in front of him, hardly noticing the ice gone from my feet, and look into his face. His eyes ease open and slowly a shaky smile cracks over his face. "E-li-an... I-I..."

"Kuzon... I'm so sorry..." I pull him against me, clutching tight around his chest. It's too late...

"El-ian... P-Please... I-I... I... l-love you..."

I shoot my hand to his mouth. No... "KUZON! KUZON, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! KUZON, I NEED YOU! KUZON! Please! Kuzon, I can't lose you! I can't lose you... Please... Please... I only just met you... We've had so little time together... I was just getting to know you... Please... I can't lose you now... I can't... Kuzon? Please... I... I love you too."

"ELIAN!"

"Aang... Maybe we should just let her –"

"ELIAN! Elian, wake up!"

I can feel myself shaking, a violent knot in my heart and an ocean of tears pouring down my face. "Elian! Elian, what happened? Are you okay? Elian?"

Slowly, the blank sky begins to come into focus. Aang? What's...? "Please!" I beg, clutching his wrist desperately. "Please tell me it was a dream, please Aang! Kuzon! We haven't found him yet, right? Please!"

"Whoa, whoa, Elian, it's okay... He's fine. They won't have done anything to him yet. We have time. Elian, are you okay?"

I manage to nod through my shaking, but I can't make myself stop crying. I pull Aang into a hug and he gently hugs me back. "It's okay, Elian..."

"I'm gonna go tell the others," Katara mutters.

I'm starting to lose track of time. How long has it been? That was a dream, right? Kuzon... He has to be okay, he has to be. Miserably, I clutch handfuls of Aang's outfit and sob. He has to be... The time we had isn't enough... I'm not ready to lose him yet... I'm not ready to see that again. How he hung so limply from those ropes... How he collapsed in front of me... How... how strained his voice was as he struggled to talk... I can't see that again... I squeeze my eyes shut, take a deep breath, and let go of Aang. "I'm sorry," I whisper through a silent sob.

"We'll find him," Aang says. "We'll get him back, I promise."

"I know," I respond quietly. "I know you can get him back. I know _we_ can him back. All of us. But what if we don't? What if we're just not ready? What if we're not strong enough and they attack us? We can't defend ourselves in this state. If they attack, Aang... They know how vulnerable we are, and they know where our camp is. By the time we're ready to go back and rescue him... I don't know if you'll be there... I don't know if they'll be there..."

"Don't think like that," he says. "Remember what you told me? They're strong. They're gonna be okay. I'll be alright, Elian. And so will he."

I nod slowly and a long silence echoes, filled only by the hushed voices of Katara, Sokka, and Toph. "How... how are your arms?"

"Oh! I'm fine, see? Katara healed it completely! Awesome, right?"

I grin, knowing that he's not talking about the waterbending. "Yeah..." I mutter. "It doesn't hurt at all?"

"Nope! So... are you okay?"

"Yeah... We'll... we'll get him back." I quickly wipe the fresh tears off my face.

"He's gonna be alright. I know I can't know for sure, but... I have a good feeling about this. Ya know, you were right about one thing – it's not safe here. We have to find somewhere else until we're strong enough to go back in. Come on, let's go tell the others. It'll be alright."

I nod and follow Aang to the group. Katara speaks before Aang can. "Aang! Just in time, I was about to go get you. We decided on a plan."

"Us too."

"We need to find somewhere safer until everyone's recovered," they both say at once. Everyone bursts into laughter except for me and Zuko. He's still in his tent.

"Well I guess that's decided," Toph says.

"Yeah," I say, "but who's gonna get Zuko?"

Everyone went quiet. Then Zuko himself steps out of his tent with a large bag – that must be all of his things – to join us, and mutters, "I heard," before turning to pack up his tent. Sokka quickly rushes over to help him.

We decided as we left that we're going to Ba Sing Se. They said it was probably the safest place we could go. Once we got to the city we were all welcomed immediately. It sounds like they've done something amazing here... People have been thanking them everywhere. I haven't asked Aang about it. I don't really care right now... "Are you sure they'll be okay...?" I ask again.

We had left Appa and Tiki in an enclosure in the Agrarian zone, where Aang assured me they would be safe. I don't like leaving Tiki with people I don't know... "They'll be fine," Aang says again. "Like I said, Kenji's a good friend. I know he'll keep them safe."

"If you say so..." Cosmo nuzzled my face reassuringly. Him and Momo are sitting on either shoulder. They've taken to both hanging with me. I guess they like having each other.

Suddenly I notice Katara glancing carefully at Zuko, and I nudge Aang as she leans close and whispers, "I've been thinking – what do you think happened to Iroh's tea shop?"

"The Jasmine Dragon?" Aang whispers.

"The Jasmine Dragon?" I copy in a whisper. "You mean that?"

"Whoa." The three of us stop, making the others stop and look too. A poster for The Jasmine Dragon.

"But it looks new," Sokka mutters, confused. "You don't think it'd still be open, do you? Who would even own it?"

"It can't be..." Zuko mutters.

"It says someone named Kyro owns it. Do you guys wanna check it out?"

They agree that it can't hurt anything just to check, and so we soon find ourselves in front of a very not closed Jasmine Dragon tea shop. People enter it and leave it like nothing ever happened to it's owner. But who is Kyro? The others didn't seem to recognize the name when I said it. Slowly, silently, we all enter, and a man that looks to be in his late sixties or seventies shows up in front of us, looking so much like Iroh in his laugh lines and gentle smile that it's suddenly not a surprise that Iroh would pass his shop off if it was to him. He brushes back his disheveled brown hair and his golden-brown eyes, matching perfectly in shade to Zuko's own, shine brightly as he says, "Hello. My name is Kyro, and I will be your host today. Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon."


	16. Family

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"This is your shop?"

"Of course," he answers, glancing at Zuko.

I glance too. Surprisingly, Zuko seems to understand something that no one else does. Staring transfixed at the man, he breathes, "Rajah..."

Rajah? What does that mean? Quickly, nervously, Kyro mutters, "I have a great deal to explain to you all. Let's meet in the back, away from customers, if you're willing. Please." He brings us to an empty hallway upstairs and smiles, "Zuko. You've changed since I last saw you."

"Rajah!"

Kyro pulls him into a long hug and mutters, "Finally I see you again. How it's pained me to hide from you. Please, forgive me."

"Uh... what's going on?" I ask.

"Of course," he says, a wide smile on his face. "You all deserve an explanation. You see, my name is not Kyro."

"What?" Sokka blurts. "But you said-"

"I know, I know. But my true name is Rajah."

"So you were trying to hide?" Katara asks.

"Exactly! It's a secret that I'm even alive right now. Not even Zuko here knew..."

"Wait," Aang mutters. "Who are you? How does Zuko know you?"

He sighs, and Zuko looks away as he says, "One does not easily forget his uncle, do they?"

"WHAT?!" shouts the whole room – excluding Zuko and Rajah.

"Uncle?!"

"Why didn't you tell us, Zuko?!"

Rajah shushes us loudly. "Please, we can't arouse suspicion."

"You're his uncle?! I thought he just had one!"

"He probably just never saw it necessary to mention someone he thought dead. You see, Zuko was only four when I supposedly died. I'm... surprised you remember me."

"Of course I do," Zuko grumbles almost inaudibly.

Rajah smiles and his eyes grow misty. "Of course," he whispers. "We were inseparable, you see..."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Katara asks again.

"I thought he was dead! I thought you were dead! Why..."

"Zuko..."

"Why did you leave?"

Rajah is actually crying now. "I didn't want to, you have to believe me! It was to keep you safe! I already lost your aunt to him, I couldn't stand the thought of putting anyone else in danger. You know better than I that he's willing to take all kinds of risks to get what he wants."

"Who?" I ask quietly.

"Ozai. You know, we were always related, but he stopped being my brother a long time ago." Suddenly he stands and steps up to an old mop bucket behind us. "I know this may be a surprise to you," he continues, dipping his hands in the water, "but we have more in common than you would think." Soon every bit of makeup was washed off and he turns back to us. Many of us gasp. It's not nearly as bad as Zuko or Kuzon, but he's completely covered... Thin lines covering both arms, his whole face, his neck... everything. Scarring. Everywhere. "When we were younger, Ozai challenged me to an Agni Kai over the throne. Of course I refused, but... A few days later... Kaia was... She was my wife, and she was gone. I didn't waste a second after that. That was when I knew that he wasn't the same Ozai I knew. Something terrible had awakened inside him... I managed to escape after he did this to me. I knew that if he killed me then he would go after my children to make sure no one would discover what he'd done – and after that I knew he'd get rid of anyone who got in his way. He didn't care if they were family."

"Wait," I say slowly, "did you say you have children?"

"Yes, four. Why?"

"What are their names?" I demand.

"Elian, what's-?"

"No, wait. What are their names?"

"Nupira, Akunia, Ikasa, and Shalia. What have they done now?"

If it wasn't Zuko's sister that was with him that day, then... "They have our friend."

"What?" Aang exclaims. "You think _they_ have Kuzon? Zuko's cousins?"

"Zuko," I say seriously, "what was the name of the person I heard talking to you? What was her name? If she wasn't Azula..."

Zuko's eyes close as he lets out a long sigh, staring fixedly at the floor. "Akunia."

The room goes quiet. "What have they done?" Rajah repeats.

"They've been after us for a few weeks now," Aang says.

"We rescued all of them from the prison in their HQ not too long ago," I continue, gesturing.

"But our friend Kuzon never came back out."

"We barely made it out alive."

"We couldn't go back until we recovered and did a lot training."

"We had to get away, to somewhere they wouldn't think of looking for us-"

"And somewhere safe."

"So we ended up here and found your sign."

"But Kuzon's still stuck there."

"And we have to get him out before something bad happens."

Rajah sighs and drops his head into his hands. "I knew something would happen, but I didn't think she would go so far..."

"So you knew your children were dangerous and you didn't do anything about it?" Toph mutters.

"Please, I never thought... You see, me and Ozai had made a deal a long time ago. A risky one, I'll admit. If we were to meet untimely deaths before the children were eighteen, one of mine and one of his were to rule side by side until one was old enough to rule on their own. It was flawed, very flawed, and hastily thought up, but it was there. Well, Ozai saw that my daughter, being older, would take the throne in the end and took it back; he decided that his daughter would rule alone no matter her age, and... My oldest, Nupira, she didn't take it well. She never was the same after that. Voilent. Selfish. We tried everything we could, Kaia and I, but... Just when we were finally making progress, Ozai got to Kaia and she... she snapped. She despised authority. Anyone in a higher position than her. I lost track of my children years ago, haven't been able to find any of them, but I knew... I knew she would truly be past saving when she heard of your return, young avatar. But I never thought she would ever... I had to know, but..." He sighs. "How did I miss this?" He shakes his head and looks intently at us. "I want to help you."

"Is there any way you could talk them out of it?"

He shakes his head. "She's past saving by now... But I know how she acts. And don't doubt my abilities because of my age. I'm fully trained in every bending technique of my type – and many others from other elements."

I can't help but smile. "So what do we do?"

He sighs. "We need a plan..."

A long silence follows, broken finally by Katara. "Why didn't you tell us about your cousins, Zuko? Why didn't you at least give us a warning that they could be after Aang?"

"It didn't matter!" he shouted. "No one had heard from them for six years! I thought they were dead! I thought you were dead!" he repeated, snapping suddenly to Rajah. "How could you?!"

"Zuko... I know it must have been the hardest thing losing him. And alone... I wanted to show myself, I did... But I didn't think you would want to see me even if you did remember me. After everything I've done to you... I'm sorry, Zuko, I really am. I tried so hard to convince him not to. I tried to tell him what it would do to you, but you know that once he's decided on something, he's not going to let that go. He said the spirits were more important than his life, and that you were in good hands... I really did try. I'm sorry..."

And for the first time in my whole life, I saw Zuko cry. The only way to describe him then is to say he was weak with grief. He just collapses. Just like that, he's on his knees, held tightly against Rajah's chest as a hand runs gently up and down his back. "I'm so sorry, Zuko... I loved him too..."


End file.
